FIDAU (40 DAYS) PRAYERS FOR 7/7 VICTIMS!
Today is the 41st day after the 7/7 London bombings that consumed so many lives and spread the terror dragnet into the UK, taking the life (amongst others) of young Anthony Fatay-Williams, and nearly killing our beloved Professor Pat Utomi (who was in the adjacent carriage to one of those bombed underground carriages!)!Using Anthony Fatayi-Williams as a point of contact, we pray (Fidau) for the repose of the dead, and the strengthening, by God, of all the lovd ones of the deceased and traumatised, as muslims would on the 41st day after their fellow-believers' death...(Anthony was the only son of a cross-religious union...Anthony's father, Dr. Tunde Fatayi=Williams, who is a son of Nigeria's first indigenous Chief Justice of the Federation, is a muslim, whisl his mother, Marie, is a Christian)...using the words of the Koran's Al-Fatiha (Opening Chapter)..."In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful...Master of the Day of Judgement...Show us the straight way; The way of those on whom Thou has bestowed Thy Grace, those whose (portion) is not wrath. AND THOSE WHO GO NOT ASTRAY"...May God be with Anthony's family, and with all other bereaved and grieving families who are bearing the burden of lost and maimed members of their families who are victims of the terrorism-dread that's holding mannkind hostage today all over the world; may He forgive all the terrorists who feel compelled to resort to this extreme and murderous style of protest against what they perceive (rightly in some cases...but never right enough to justify mass-anihilation of innocents...NEVER!) as an unabating oppression by political powers that act with seemng impunity; whilst we pray that God places His fear in the hearts of all leaders and peoples of the world's nations, so that truth, justice, equity, fairplay, freedom, and the restoration of human/ecological/economic/politicaland other rights can reign throughout the globe, including in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestinia, Nigeria, the UK, & the USA, amongst all the countries that still are far from the God-destined ideal of a righteous world. We Christians look forward to the second coming of Christ which will herald true utopian idealism and righteousness in life, and on earth! Meanwhile, may we all fear God enough to respect and dignify human life which none of us can create. May we learn to love humanity enough to stop suicide and murder, whether politically or economically driven. May we lay our prayers before God, and truly practise our professed putative faith (whether Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist, Hindu, Confucian, or other...) in the Supreme Lord's omniscience, omnipotence, and all-encompassing love for what is best for us. Let us pray more and prey less!! Amen. SHALOM!!!
posted by TIUranta at 9:22 AM
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Many people may wonder why I (an avowed "dyed-in-the-wool" Christian) chose to mark the 7/7 tragedy's 41st day memeorial in a style more related to Islam than any other major religion, and why I chose also to quote from the Islamic Holy Book, the Koran. Well, first let me reassure all my friends and associates that not only have I not "lost my marbles" nor derailed off my faith in Christ (and Christ alone!), but I am, in fact, more on-fire for Him than ever before, and that I'm merely opting to live according to my saviour's injunction that I do unto others as I would want them to do unto me...my using the language of not just the religion of young Fatayi-Williams' father, but also that of the perpetrators of the dastardly acts of terrorism in London, is to meet the main characters of this tragedy where they are, as Christ did by becoming man to meet us at our point of need for salvation! Let it not be said that any al-Qaeda adherents would miss one's plea, for a return to sanity, merely because they would refuse to read anything that relates to Christian literature (by the way, Anobi Mohammed, peace be on him, taught his followers, in the Koran, that they need to live in peace and brotherhood with Christians, whom he called the people of the book and the way, and whom he further described as trustworthy friends that exhibited the integrity of brotherhood to the besieged new-muslims who were attacked in Medina by the armies of Mecca...how ironic it is that these same Christians are today hated by some supposed followers of this prophet who spent so much time studying the Bible, and acknowledging the veracity of virtually all its claims...). The Koran was also quoted to remind us that Islam (the word ISLAM transliterates as "the way of peace" by the way) does not ask men to "go astray" necessarily, but that (just as with the Bible) many men may choose to interprete its teachings so subjectively as to attempt to fit its teachings and injunctions into their personal-interest-world-views (even if these be inconsistent with God's will, message or perspective!), and thus they mat vainly try to justify their aberrant, diverse, varied and odd behaviour that may be paradoxical (in nature and effect) to the very basic scriptures delivered to man by Jehovah. May the souls of the dead rest in peace, and may we the living not rest on our oars until we all jointly condemn, abhor, eschew, and end all forms of war, oppression, injustice, exploitation, might-as-right, and terrorism in our world, I pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Shalom!!!
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