First They Came For The Hijab

France's Religious Freedom Failures

When the last wave of fascism spread across Europe the socialists who spread their banner of intolerance across the nations of Western Europe wasted no time targeting religious freedoms. Conservative Judaism suffered immediate harassment as the French brown shirts took up the German jackboots' cause. Beards were publicly desecrated as the peyos locks were sheered off. To add insult to injury these same Jews were then forced to adorn their clothing with a yellow star to identify themselves ironically in much the same way their religious customs had. However this time their sense of religious identity was upon the terms of the fascist and not in accordance to their religious customs.

For the Muslims of France the first step in reestablishing these very sins committed under, and often blamed upon, the Nazis. Yet in modern France there are no foreign fascist to blame these modern denials of religious freedoms upon. Today the French have only themselves and their own bigotry to blame for the denials of religious practices to a distinct religious group.

Once again the French strip away one of the most precious practices of their victims in an attempt to humiliate their victims. It is no more an attempt to preserve "French values" than it is an attempt to impose higher values upon the targeted portion of their society. For if religious intolerance is a French value than the victimized community should not be expected to practice religious tolerance anywhere on the planet. Once shown that their faith is given less value than that of their oppressors', how can France expect a social standard be shown toward them that they deny to others?

The idea of forcing a new set of standards upon a small portion of society is not only counterproductive but also goes completely against the ideals of liberty and equality. In a free and open society there can be no room made for intolerance of our basic G-d given rights. Let alone when it is the government applying such double standards upon society at large. For if any portion of our society is not allowed to practice their basic human rights; none of us are truly free.

The main excuse for the "burqa ban" has been the blatantly false concern for public safety. When politicians run out of things to blame their biases upon these days they turn to the mind-numb masses and screams danger. And in a modern world where the masses are just about gullible enough to drink the kool-aid these scare tactics somehow still have an affect.

But what are we really risking by allowing our Muslim sisters to be abused by the legislators of Europe?

Small Steps Toward Tyranny

When Germany began it's march toward totalitarianism in the late 1920's the German public was not well aware of what was awaiting them over the next two decades. Their flirtation with a national sense of pride and the promises of a politicians was a poison that would rot their sense of self worth. Their own identities would have to be sold to the state if they wished to obtain the prizes that their new leaders dangled just out of reach. And sure enough, the Germans took the bait. 

In France Europe watched as deviant leaders dangled lofty promises of "restoring French pride" in a society that never really had any. Slowly the seed took root and the people of France began to sell off their own self worth for the promise of a new and better France. Their own identities as liberal and free thinking individuals has slowly decayed as France inches it's way toward fascist socialism. The lie of what a person must be to be truly "French" has already be swallowed by the masses. The cookie cutter image of what a "good French citizen" should look like has already been supplanted in place of their own self image. No longer is the model citizen allowed to freely and openly practice their faith, but rather is expected to pay homage to a godless state. 

With the removal of publicly displayed Christian symbols the French were expected to show that they were cutting ties to their Christian past and moving toward a free and open society. However, once the public accepted that the church and state were separate the state began to cross the boundary and play the role of church. Where the idea of limiting the role of religion in politics had been so keenly imposed the rationalization of limiting the state's role in religion was not. 

This is where the hijab battle in Europe is best displayed. 

In a public that was willing to limit and even oppress the rights of it's Christian "bitter clingers" the society cannot expect the state to practice limits. This is why the overreaching of the state in it's relationship with the mosque is not surprising. Had the state been pushed back when it was dabbling in the church it would have been less likely to have reached it's hands into the mosque right afterward. Yet the public said nothing, so now they can do little to stop it. 

The pace at which a state moves toward tyranny is determined by the reaction of those who it governs. If the public remains silent as the state oversteps it's bounds with one group than all the rest have no ability to rely upon the others when the state comes stepping on their toes as well. The old poem "First They Came" is in this sense a warning to all portions of community when dealing with a government that attempts to grow at their expense. 

As for France, the Roma have long been the canary in the coalmine. 

When the government of France began deporting legal Romani citizens alongside newly immigrated Roma from Eastern Europe their countrymen remained silent. The deportations of Roma were looked at as an attempt to bring law and order back to the ghettos of France's cities. The scapegoat, the Roma, were just the objects upon which the French attached their collective sins. And in step with their history with France, the Roma took another one on the chin while Europe covered it's eyes. 

The canary's calls were ignored. And even when the canary fell to the bottom of it's dirty cage... nobody said a word. 

Now the fascist have moved on to another target that they had been eyeballing for years now. 

Prison Or Piety?

"O children of Adam, We have bestowed upon you clothing to conceal your private parts and as adornment. But the clothing of righteousness - that is best. That is from the signs of All-h that perhaps they will remember." ~ Qur'an 7:26

The hijab is to Islam what the kippa is to Judaism. It is yet another way for the observant to show their faith and devotion to All-h. Not publicly, contrary to what the outside world might think, but in a very personal manner that professes their dedication to the path G-d has directed for them. It is only coincidence that this portion of their faith is visible to a world that does not fully understand or appreciate it. 

Contrary to what a non-Muslim might think, the burqa is not mentioned in the Qur'an. However, the word "hijab" is mentioned in the Qur'an seven times (five times as hijab and twice as hijaban). In every occurrence the word hijab is used to mean "a barrier or veil between G-d and the human being". It is at no time mentioned as an article of clothing or a garment with which a female should adorn herself in the presence of a man. 

In this light one should understand that if a woman, especially one in a secular society, chooses to adorn the article of clothing we refer to as a hijab they are doing so under their own will. It is not a compulsory portion of Islam and has not been commanded of them by the mosque or their imam. Thus the decision to wear the headscarf is one born out of their own religious ideals and is not a "prison" with which Islam "enslaves" them (as Western feminists and conservatives have often said). 

This decision on behalf of the hijab wearing Muslim is much the same as the decision of orthodox Jews to wear the kippa (often refereed to in Yiddish as a yarmulke). Not once in the Torah does G-d command Jewish men to wear a a kippa. This is evident by the lack of a blessing associated with putting on the kippa since there is no commandment for Jews to recite (as is custom when putting on articles such as the tallit). Therefore the two garments are a rather personal decision, and though not born out of religious mandate, that should be respected due to the individual's personal relationship not with their religion but with their G-d. 

For me, a conservative Jew who does wear a kippa daily, the decision to wear the kippa is one that reminds me of G-d's will for my life. It is a sentiment that is just as sacred as keeping my beard. And even though it is just a small circle piece of clothing, the kippa is a part of my daily routine that keeps my love, my passion, and my desire to serve G-d at the front of my mind. I can only imagine that for Muslim women wearing the hijab this article of their clothing holds just as much sentiment and significance for them as well.

Who Is Next?

The main reason that the hijab battles spreading across Europe should be worrisome even to those who are not religious is rather simple. In a society where we are willing to deny the rights of a few there is no sense of security for the many. If a government is able to restrict the practices of a portion of society they are more than capable of stripping the rights of every other citizen as well. And where a portion of society is capable of being isolated and set aside for devious intent the risk of crimes against all humanity remain a very real possibility. 

When the first Germans were sent off to be reeducated the rest of Germany remained silent. That silence was a weapon in the hands of the government. It was the ammunition they needed to take the next step toward absolute control. With that silence the governments of man can strip away the identities of every individual and replace it with a soulless, heartless, and numb collective. The very essence of what we are as a society is denied to us as the image of what a faceless regime wants us to be replaces it. With our silence we not only lose our voice but also the very liberties we should be using our voices to defend.

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Beyond The Ummah

Screaming For Those Outside Our Faith
(Screamer Post)

The views expressed in this post are opinion based and do not represent the views of Alder's Ledge's many different contributors and writers. Our team here at Alder's Ledge is religiously diverse and do not all share the same faith or ideals. With that said this post should be seen as the opinion of our main author alone. Please read with an open mind and feel free to contact the author with any feedback you might have.

I don't often speak out against the given faiths of others. My personal opinion is that those such beliefs are not suitable for polite conversation. And yet over the past few weeks the assiduous desire to do so has constantly come forward from the back of my mind. Not from conflict with any given faith in particular. But rather due to the lack of heart and compassion I continually see in these so called believers before me. 

I understand that there is a compulsion to tend to one's own community of pious brothers and sisters before focusing on the needs of others. But I don't exactly understand as to why this compulsion exists in the first place. It is the very existence of this ethnocentric obligation that at times amuses me and yet more often than not infuriates me. 

When I first began writing about the genocide the first group that jumped on board with my "screaming" was the Armenian community. Of course the topic I was writing about at the time was the Armenian Genocide and the lack of recognition for it across the United States. So naturally the Armenian community clung to the idea of screaming and readily helped in doing so. After all, it was an effort to both remember and honor their ancestors who had perished at the hands of the Turks. 

Yet when I write about the Romani people in Europe and the Americas the collective voice of the Christian Armenian supporters falls away. 

Then came the Syrian articles. Suddenly the few Christian supporters who wanted to scream vanished. But just as they stepped away, in came Muslim supporters who wanted to scream on behalf of their oppressed brothers and sisters. And once again the faithful were ready to scream... 

Or were they?

It is easy for us to scream for those who we feel bonded to. It is easy for us to take up the struggle of a community that we share a given faith with and common sense of identity. We feel the desire because we can relate to their suffering by imagining what it would be like if we had the same thing happen to us. The ability to superimpose our own selves in their given scenario is made easier by the religion we share with them. Yet if we take away that trait and cancel out any religious sympathies we might have for the victim, the ability to scream for them dwindles rapidly. 

This has been made clear to me when I myself have crossed the imaginary line between one faith and the next to lend my voice to the oppressed on the other side. In the case of the Rohingya people, a topic I'm the sole author here on, the question comes up often as to why I care. And it is a question that seems both offensive to me and odd at the same time. 

Are the Rohingya not human beings like myself? Do they not have strong religious beliefs that are being trampled upon by the government of Myanmar in much the same way as my ancestors' religion was? And if I were in their shoes would I not want somebody to scream on my behalf? 

The question of faith is not one that should guide us toward a given "cause" or the plight of this group over that one. If we are honest in our beliefs we would note that G-d never commanded us to defend our faith at the expense of other people. Instead, and much to the contrary, our faith should guide us to care for all people no matter what their given faith or social standings might be. We should be ready to fight on the behalf of all the downtrodden and outcasts that society creates. Without a second thought, we should scream till our throats are raw and our breath runs short. For this is the basic principle of each of our faiths... to show the love our Creator has shown to us. 

O you who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to All-h, even though it be against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, be he rich or poor, All-h is a Better Protector to both (than you). So follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest you avoid justice; and if you distort your witness or refuse to give it, verily, All-h is Ever Well-Acquainted with what you do. 

~ Surah An-Nisa 4:135

"Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause." ~ Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 1:17

"Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all."

~ Romans 12:15-18

If we are to call ourselves believers than we must first learn what it means to believe and not just pick and choose what suites us best. And if we are to call ourselves screamers than we must show our dedication to scream for anyone, anywhere, at anytime. We cannot choose who we love anymore than we can choose for whom we will scream. 

"For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another"

~ Galatians 5:13

We have been born free men. We have a voice that is a blessing given onto us. It is a blessing that is meant to be used not to serve our own flesh or our own people but to be at the service of others. If it is withheld from this then we should never expect others to use their blessings on our behalf.

The serving of our own community is important. But the showing of our faith through the service to others is even greater. Screaming beyond the boundaries of our faiths and outside our comfort zones shows this for all the world to see. Through this act we become a light to a dark world that so desperately needs our passion, our hearts, our love, and our voice.

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Genocide And The Church

Prodding The Believers Into The Fray
(Screamer Post)

Alder's Ledge is not affiliated with any given faith. However, the main author is Jewish and thus this post will contain aspects of his given faith. We advise those reading this post to apply their own judgement as to how this pertains to your own beliefs. "Screamer's Post" are op-ed style post and do directly reflect all our contributors' and authors' views or beliefs.

Over the past year I have had the opportunity to speak to many different men and women of G-d about the plight of the Rohingya in Burma. Ranging from pastors, rabbis, an imam, and a few other spiritual leaders of sorts. With every encounter I have had the results have surprisingly varied greatly from one individual to the next. Most have offered the usual response of admitting how terrible the crisis the Rohingya face really is. Others on the other hand deflect the crisis all together by hiding behind their G-d as an excuse for their apathy. 

"We don't feel that G-d is calling us to help..."

My faith has always led me to believe that G-d's will for His people always aligns with helping those in need. At no point in my faith have I found it plausible to turn away for any reason from the downtrodden and oppressed. My G-d has led me from my own struggles, at times with me dragging my heels like a mule, and thus I cannot find it in me to close my eyes to the suffering of others. So when faced with the statement above I have only one reply...

When did He ever tell you not to help?

"Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."

~ Galatians 6:2

"For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, 'You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.'"

~ Devarim (Deuteronomy) 15:11

"Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked."

~ Psalm 82:4 

"Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to G-d."

~ Hebrews 13:16 

 "Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause." 

~ Isaiah 1:17

"Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others."

~ Philippians 2:4 

 "Those who spend (in the cause of All-h) privately or publicly, by night and day, have their reward with their L-rd. And (on the Day of Resurrection) they shall neither fear nor grieve."

 Al-Baqarah 2:274

"You shall give the due alms to the relatives, the needy, the poor, and the traveling alien; but do not be excessive, extravagant."

~ Qur'an 17:26-29

At no point has G-d commanded His believers to pick and choose to whom and to what causes they are to give their time and energy. For those who believe in giving charity (zakat) as a practice of their faith have no more claim to possessing their donation than they do in how it is spent from that point on. We were commanded by G-d to surrender a portion of everything and anything that He blesses us with so that it might benefit the L-rd and exult His name amongst the nations (the world). Our only duty is to give when and as He has directed us to. 

As I have from one house of G-d after the other over this past year I have found however that most of us grasp to every last blessing that G-d bestows upon us greedily. We cling to our cash as though we will someday get to take it with us when we leave this miserable world behind. And yet in every one of our books Ad-ni has told us that we are to be separate from the treasures of this world. He has commanded us to use all that He has given to us to spread His glory. 

So why this desire to collect our rewards in this life? 

In nearly every verse dealing with what we write off as charity G-d has shown us that money and wealth have little to do with our reward. And in each verse He has told us that simply spending these things cannot gain us favor in His eyes. We are meant to work. We are meant to spend our wealth, our energy, and our time doing His work... showing His love.

There are no rewards in this life that we can take away from it with us. When we die all this is history. All the cars, the houses, the diplomas, the accomplishments... they all are meaningless once we return to the dust from which we came. 

The only thing we have when we leave this world is the legacy that we leave behind. All we have is the mark we have left upon the lives of those we have touched in our short time on this planet. Once we are gone the only thing that will last is our legacy of showing G-d's grace, His mercy, His love, and His glory. 

Everything else will fade... everything else will die with us. 

So it has been a hard fought struggle to work my way into places I so desperately ran away from in my youth. To work my way back into the pews, behind the benches, and into the seats where I felt my spirit lead me away from so long ago. All in the name of tapping into the wealth that these houses of G-d cannot seem to put into action. In an attempt to wake the soul of a community that sets on the sidelines like terracotta warriors... void of life.

"...Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest."

It is difficult to force anyone into action when they have told themselves the lie so often that G-d has not commanded them to do so. Yet when dealing with genocide the "field" isn't just ready for harvest but the enemy is readily setting it ablaze. Despite being able to see this as a war, a struggle, in which the other side is using a scorched earth policy... the church's eyes are still fixed upon their feet. 

For a screamer this means that we must be the iron, freshly pulled from the flames, that must be used to prod G-d's believers into the field. We must be relentless in our attempts to engage the wealth of the church (temple, mosque) and create workers to bring in the harvest before it is burnt away. 

We face an enemy that prepares to make our brothers and sisters into burnt offerings. We face a holocaust. And for this reason all of us must stand up and fill the gap between despair and hope. Without that willingness to take upon the struggle of the oppressed we will otherwise be forced to watch our fellow man be ushered off to an early grave. 

"Muslims? 

No, We Can't Help Them"

Then comes the second reality I have had to come to terms with over this past year. The reality that even amongst three linked faiths there are still divisions, prejudice, and even hatred. This is a reality that has come from hearing one man of G-d after the next turn away at the very hint that the people I was asking them to help were Muslims. As if they would have helped if the victims were from any other faith...

The other part of this bigoted response has been that from the other end of the spectrum.

"You're a Jew... why would you help them?"

It isn't the reality that the prejudice against Islam and Muslims still exist, that is one I have known for decades. It is the sudden reality that despite G-d's commands to love as He has loved us, so many believers still can't look past these minor differences and simply love one another. It is that we seem so stubborn in our decision to first see the other person as a Muslim, Jew, or Christian rather than the precious being that G-d created with all His love and heart. 

For this reason, from this aspect of engaging the supposed righteous, I have found G-d's faithful to be the most challenging and exhausting group of people to address with Alder's Ledge's message. Creating screamers out of hearts that view the situation through such a narrow prism has been painful at best. 

Yet the struggle has one reward that makes this struggle so vital to helping those suffering from genocide and ethnic cleansing in Burma (and around the world). 

Setting in those pews are hearts that know a passion, a faith, and a love that is urgently needed. In those pews aren't just people who often prove to be charitable with their money, but rather have time and time again shown a willingness to put muscle behind their dollars. But first, they have always had to be driven from their prayer mats, their pews, and their alters to be dragged into the fight for justice. 

Amongst them, as with any other group of people, there are so many untapped talents and abilities. All of which must be engaged through their religion while also overcoming the prejudices that may exist. 

G-d has given us His commandments to help engage His faithful in this fight to save the Rohingya from the genocide that Burma has perpetrated against them. Now all we have to do is find ways to make the words G-d has given us break through the barriers that organized religion so often builds up around it's followers. 

And perhaps it is due to my frustration in my own struggle to do so that has led to this article...

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Genocide and the Bible

The Genocide of the Amalekites

The Jewish Encyclopedia: 'David waged a sacred war of extermination against the Amalekites.' 

Throughout the history of Judaism and the nation of Israel the memory of the Amalekites has never truly been blotted out. Though the story of their annihilation may be hard to retell with historical facts to back it up, the tale of their demise has lived on. Mainly in part to its repeated mention throughout the Torah. 

Numbers 24:20 "Then he looked on Amalek and took up his discourse and said, 'Amalek first among the nations, but it ends in utter destruction.'"

It is in these accounts of the battles against the Amalekites that the ancient Israelis are often seen as killing ruthlessly this opposing tribe. It is in the Torah that the accounts note that G-d commanded of Israel to not only kill the men of Amalek who took to the battlefield but also to slaughter all of the Amalekite women, children, infants, and even their animals. And it is in these accounts that we can not ignore the fact that this act would today be called genocide. 

"Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey." 1 Sam. 15:3

Today Christians and Jews alike write off the genocide of the Amalek people. Many claim that G-d himself commanded the actions of Israel so the killing is totally without blame. Others just simply consider the genocide part of ancient history. 

I myself can not answer the questions this subject brings to the surface. I will not attempt to place the blame with my G-d. I will not squarely place the blame with the ancient Israelites. But unlike most of my fellow believers, I will give this ancient tribe its justice in admitting that this was genocide. 

It is also important to note that no religion or race of man today can say that their ancestors have not done the same. Wherever we look in history there are accounts of genocidal wars and what would be called ethnic cleansing today. Islam started out with clear cases of ethnic cleansing in Arabia. Christianity spent countless years of "crusading" to rid the world of opposing views in both recent and ancient times. Buddhism has been used to justify ethnic cleansing in places like Myanmar every since it's spread. And Judaism has recorded it's own cases of genocide throughout the Torah.

It is only when we can accept this part of our own history that we can fully accept our past in its entirety. And when we finally accomplish that we can begin to take meaningful steps to end this grotesque chapter in our history as a species.