The fullness of the human condition is clearly elaborated in the article and in the responses it has engendered. Each person writes with powerful arguments; each seems to seek to assign the source of evil outside of themselves. The operating assumption seems to be that all evil is in the other.

There can never be peace in the world until each of us can look inside and find our own responsibility in the matter. Yes there are dastardly people who perform terrible acts! This seems to be true in all societies and all cultures. What is it that makes us take the leap to vilify an entire group? Millions have been killed by this one assumption.

Perhaps we might find better ways to cope with our fear and hatred. It certainly seems to me that the original article attempts to do just that.

Added reading material- Ayaan Hirsi Ali's autobiography, "Infidel".

"Thus begins the extraordinary story of a woman born into a family of desert nomads, circumcised as a child, educated by radical imams in Kenya and Saudi Arabia, taught to believe that if she uncovered her hair, terrible tragedies would ensue. It's a story that, with a few different twists, really could have led to a wretched life and a lonely death, as her grandmother warned. But instead, Hirsi Ali escaped -- and transformed herself into an internationally renowned spokeswoman for the rights of Muslim women."
ref: Washington Post book review.

four excerpts:

p. 47 paperback issue:

"Some of the Saudi women in our neighborhood were regularly beaten by their husbands. You could hear them at night. Their screams resounded across the courtyards. "No! Please! By Allah!"

p.68:

"The Pakistanis were Muslims but they too had castes. The Untouchable girls, both Indian and Pakistani were darker skin. The others would not play with them because they were untouchable. We thought that was funny because of course they were touchable: we touched them see? but also horrifying to think of yourself as untouchable, despicable to the human race."

p.309

"Between October 2004 and May 2005, eleven Muslim girls were killed by their families in just two regions (there are 20 regions in Holland). After that, people stopped telling me I was exaggerating."

p. 347

"The kind on thinking I saw in Saudi Arabia and among the Brotherhood of Kenya and Somalia, is incompatible with human rights and liberal values. It preserves the feudal mind-set based on tribal concepts of honor and shame. It rests on self-deception, hyprocricy, and double standards. It relies on the technologial advances of the West while pretending to ignore their origin in Western thinking. This mind-set makes the transition to modernity very painful for all who practice Islam".

continued below:

And yes, Ali Hirsi lied (as noted in her autobiography) on her visa applications since it was the only way to escape the tyranny and/or threats to her safety in her country of residence.

And yes Ali Hirsi's autobiography is banned in all Islamic theocracies!!!!

As is Sir Salman Rushdie's sataric book, The Satanic Verses!!!!

One final note:

Muslims demonize themselves via the history of Islam as seen in their founder, an illiterate, hallucinating, warmongering, greedy and lust-filled, long-dead Arab. As long as the Worst Book Ever Written aka the koran is the operating manual of Islam, Muslims of any stripe cannot be trusted.

To be fair, the OT is the Second Worst Book Ever Written. The Ten Commandments are its only saving grace.

The NT has a small bit of wholesome history but 70% of the passages are embellishments added to create a deity out of a simple preacher man. There "ain't" many pages left once the embellishments are removed. Said authentic passages would fill less than fifty pages making it simply a very short story of the life of said simple preacher man.

Ms. Mehdi - thanks for the interesting perspective from Jordan. Here in the US we only hear the negative stories about Muslims, as you can tell by the various comments. If we think about it, we can realize that the news is about the actions of the few, not the ordinary Muslims.

What I liked was how you described how we humans, no matter our faith, forget our divisions like ethnicity or nationality when we are focused on a spiritual time like the Hajj or, for us Christians now, Christmas.

I have read about the Hajj and as I recall, one reason "distinctions melt" and people come together as equals is the plain white robes pilgrims wear. The images we in the West have been priviliged to see, thanks to the reporting of people like Ms. Mehdi, are striking and almost mezmerizing, as tens of thousands of white-clad figures conduct the most important walk of their spiritual lifetimes. It's fascinating to learn about.

To others replying to this article I'd like to point out that we Christians, with many centuries of un-Christ-like behavior behind us during the Crusades and beyond, should not condemn all Muslims because of a radical minority.

The more we know about Islam, as explained by Muslim-Americans such as Ms. Mehdi, the better we can help mitigate circumstances that have led some to violence. Citizens of cultures and nations that feel respected, that have hope of a better future, and whose leaders have a voice in the international community are unlikely to dissolve into violence.

Whether it is disenfranchised Christians in Northern Ireland or small but scary groups of radicalized Muslims, we should try to understand and address factors causing radicalism wherever it occurs in the world. We would all be safer in the long run.

Obviously, Anisa Mehdi and "Blakoak777" (who is probably someone's strawman) need some assistance in curing their Three B Syndrome i.e. Bred, Born and Brainwashed in Islam. And we are here to provide this free assistance with our Five Step Method for Deprograming/Deflawing Islam (as noted many times but still much in demand).

Are you ready?

Using "The 77 Branches of Islamic "faith" a collection compiled by Imam Bayhaqi as a starting point. In it, he explains the essential virtues that reflect true "faith" (iman) through related Qur’anic verses and Prophetic sayings." i.e. a nice summary of the Koran and Islamic beliefs.

"1. Belief in Allah"

aka as God, Yahweh, Zeus, Jehovah, Mother Nature, etc." should be added to your cleansing neurons.

"2. To believe that everything other than Allah was non-existent. Thereafter, Allah Most High created these things and subsequently they came into existence."

Evolution and the Big Bang or the "Gib Gnab" (when the universe starts to recycle) are more plausible and the "akas" for Allah should be included if you continue to be a "creationist".

"3. To believe in the existence of angels."

A major item for neuron cleansing.
Angels/devils are the mythical creations of ancient civilizations, e.g. Hittites, to explain/define natural events, contacts with their gods, big birds, sudden winds, protectors during the dark nights, etc. No "pretty/ugly wingy thingies" ever visited or talked to Mohammed, Jesus, Mary or Joseph or Joe Smith. Today we would classify angels as fairies and "tinker bells". Modern devils are classified as the demons of the demented.

4. "To believe that all the heavenly books that were sent to the different prophets are true. However, apart from the Quran, all other books are not valid anymore."

Another major item to delete. There are no books written in the spirit state of Heaven (if there is one) just as there are no angels/"pwtfft"s to write/publish/distribute them. The Koran, OT, NT etc. are simply books written by humans for humans.

Prophets were invented by ancient scribes typically to keep the uneducated masses in line. Today we call them fortune tellers.
Prophecies are also invalidated by the natural/God/Allah gifts of Free Will and Future.

"5. To believe that all the prophets are true. However, we are commanded to follow the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) alone."

Mohammed spent thirty days fasting in a hot cave before his first contact with Allah aka God etc. via a "pretty wingy thingy". Common sense demands a neuron deletion of #5. #5 is also the major source of Islamic violence i.e. turning Mohammed's "fast, hunger-driven" hallucinations into horrible reality for unbelievers.

Accept these five "cleansers" and we guarantee a complete recovery from your Islamic ways!!!!

Analogous Five Step Programs for Deprograming/Deflawing Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism or Bahaism are available upon request.

Hmmm, "hsnkhwj", where have we seen that ID before?? Could it be one of the aliases used by our favorite "impostering poster"?

As a reminder, this is an anonymous blog and imposters abound.

Anisa your insights on the Hajj were very thought provoking and upon reflection should cause any conscious thinking person to reflect on what's the purpose of our life on this earth.
As for all you bigoted, ignorant, moral cowards who troll the internet because you don't have the guts to voice your putrid ignorance in public; I really pity you. Ignorance and bigotry is such a comfort for the savage delusional.

hitman2:

Kudos to you for enlightening us about the 4 pseudo-names posing as intellectuals.

Mehdi pontificates thus:

"The great jihad - or struggle - each Muslim faces in his or her lifetime is how to be the finest person possible."

Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!
If what she claims has a trace of truth, the Muslims' affairs would not be in this sorry state. Their energies are directed mainly at destroying those who are not in their image, than improving theirs. While the rest of the world is marching forward they alone are marching backward and worst, yet, is that no amount of data seems to shake their worldview.

Hitman, Hitman, Hitman,

And yet another Muslim or Muslim sympathizer who suffers from the Three B Syndrome i.e. Born, Bred and Brainwashed in the horrors of Islam!!!

Anisa Mehdi,

What a nice and inspiring article. I am amazed by the majesty of this Hajj.
It is so informative and meaningful
thanks.

Gays are against Islam. One gay under four names? CCNL,Abhab,Helozcel1 and thishowiseeit - same style same old rant.
A parrot reciting his master's voice.
Probably mental case???????.

This whole pilgrimage ritual; rotating around a black cube, kissing another rock or throwing of rocks at another set of rocks is a pre-Islamic ritual. It was adopted by the Muslim prophet to appease the people of Mecca who earned a livelihood by catering to the pilgrims. The Muslims are not particularly fascinated by traveling to the deserts of Arabia, except they are threatened by their scriptures of the most horrific punishments if they could afford to make the trip and they did not. No amount of veneration would make such a ritual have a spiritual dimension

Medhi,
Muslims make the hajj pilgrimage because they are told to and are promised the pleasures of paradise. Many have been brainwashed from childhood, some later. This is one of the many example of mind control of the masses. There are of course few good thing coming out of it, but the sad part is that you are not anymore able to think freely. It's very sad indeed. All they do is to take orders from someone(s) else, either alive now or dead.

Dear Anisa Marie Mehdi,
Film Director and Jounalist,
Emmy and Cine Golden Eagle Winner.

Feast of the Sacrifice,Cult of Beheading and The Great Jihad,

Eid al-Adha is a Perfect Sample of Cult of Beheading.
As everyone knows,it is,indeed,a Jewish Legend written in The Law,Jewish Prophet Abraham and his son Isaac.
Feast of Sacrife is the Second Stage of Cult of Blood/The Great Jihad or Struggle or Kampf in German/Mein Kampf.

The Great Jihad has Three Stages lasting life-long;
1-First Stage,
When Jihadist is six year-old,they cut his sexual organ(circumcision) Blood,Blood,Blood.and Dear Anisa,you are from Iraq and in Northern Iraq,they cut girl's sexual organ(FGM) Blood,Blood,Blood.
2-Second Stage,
When Jihadist grow up,he cut off/behead animals(Ram,Cattle,Camel)Blood,blood,blood.
3-Third Stage,
When Jihadist learns how to behead,he beheads Little Ishmael and Others and Infidels/Non-Muslims.Blood,Blood,Blood.

Dear Marie Mehdi,
As you write very well,Feast of Sacrifice is an Important Part of The Great Jihad/Struggle/Mein Kampf.
The Great Jihad lasts Life-Long and The Jihadists have to struggle forever.
The Great Jihad will come to USA and The Jihadists will make House of War/USA to House of The Great Jihad.

Happy Feast of the Sacrifice Day.

How Islam "celebrates" its "humanity":

1a) 179 killed in Mumbai/Bombay, 290 injured

1b) Assassination of Benazir Bhutto and Theo Van Gogh

2) 9/11, 3000 mostly US citizens, 1000’s injured

3) The 24/7 Sunni-Shiite centuries-old blood feud currently being carried out in Iraq, US Troops, 3,476 killed in combat, 890 in non-combat roles, 94,231 – 102,820 Iraqi civilians killed, http://www.iraqbodycount.org/ and
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/casualty.pdf

4) Kenya- In Nairobi, about 212 people were killed and an estimated 4000 injured; in Dar es Salaam, the attack killed at least 11 and wounded 85.[2]

5) Bali-in 2002-killing 202 people, 164 of whom were foreign nationals, and 38 Indonesian citizens. A further 209 people were injured.

6) Bali in 2005- Twenty people were killed, and 129 people were injured by three bombers who killed themselves in the attacks.

7) Spain in 2004- killing 191 people and wounding 2,050.

8) UK in 2005- The bombings killed 52 commuters and the four radical Islamic suicide bombers, injured 700.

9) The execution of an eloping couple in Afghanistan on 04/15/2009 by the Taliban.

10) Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan: US troops killed in action 650, 192killed in non-combat situations as of 10/20/09

11) The killing of 13 citizen soldiers at Ft. Hood by a follower of the koran.