American Muslima Writer -Daring to Work Towards Jannah

Being married to Lebanese man and having two half-lebanese kids makes me technically Lebanese too (I just have been lazy to get the passport). So this recent events in Lebanon makes my poor heart ache. Watching a country already stretched by a long war and the recent Isreali-Hezbollah war turning again into a nightmare hurts deeply. A lot of people there can hardly afford to pay bills and eat. I'm not talking about american style bills I'm talking about water elec rent and food and that's about all. Most families live on less than $350 a month. I know first hand because I was one of them. This is basic monthly pay for "middle lower class". Middle Class is about $500 to $1000 a month. I used to make over $1000 just working at a movie theater in USA. So it is terrible when these fights break out and people can't get to work and all shops and schools stop until things clear up. No money for people to survive. Roads get blockaded so how can fresh food supplies (that are the cheapest to buy and what most people live off of) get to far cities? I used to live in an area just south of Beirut called Haretil-Nameh. Or just Nameh. THis poor city just likes protests and this is where they set up a blockade on the road. The picture was front page in the UAE papers. I was like wow that's like three blocks from my old house. The just today my in-laws told me there was shoot out right next to their house just a few blocks up from Hamra street near the Bristol Hotel. I shuddered to imagine being so close to the action. The isreali airplane bombings during the summer 2006 war was enough for me but that's another blog!
There really never will be long lasting peace in Lebanon. So many different religions all fighting for the same small piece of beautiful land. I'm just glad i was able to see it during a small time of peace. Countries outside of Lebanon are using it's land and people to act out their political differences. We have the Hezbollah side backed by Syria and Iran and a lot of muslims (but not all) verses now the March 14th/Hariri/anti-syrian groups backed by USA, christians and some Muslims. Families are being split with member going for one side or the other. It's sad. Then some groups like the Druze are just adding fuel to the fires. It can easily be ended and it can easily be fueled by just a few words from the top members of the groups. A lot of blood has already been shed and I worry and fear that things will escalate.
On another note some say that the mehdi (who hasn't come yet, and will be a sign of the coming anti-christ and then Prophet Jesus ('Isa) who will defeat the anti-christ and return as a Muslim and pray with the Muslims) wont be coming until the signs showing he will come have happened and one of the minor signs is constant unrest in the land of Bilalu-Shams (modern Lebanon Syria and part of Jordan). Which we are seeing more and more of as days go by. Some of the major signs are constant natural phenomenons like Tornadoes, earthquakes, and floods. It's scary seeing things like the recent Tsunami's, tornadoes, lower american flooding though hurricanes, etc.. happening one right after another. SubhanAllah. Insha'Allah I'll make a post later about the major and some minor signs of the Day of Judgement coming.
Back to poor Lebanon. I just hope this time things do simmer back down so my family can carry on with their lives without dealing with another generation wracked by war. My husband grew up with war and maybe some of the first sounds he heard as a small baby were rocket shells flying across Beirut. What a hard thing to live with. War for him is just a fact of life that people have to face. He told me lots of stories about his family and others during the war. Like how if Muslims got stopped at a christian checkpoint and were caught with wrong papers or ID cards or the checkpoint people were feeling bored they'd shoot the whole family. This happened vice versa too with Muslims killing christians too. It was war. Both sides lost people.
I having been born in 1984 faced no wars nor any possible threats of wars on my home or family. I was too young to understand desert storm (though one of my cousins was a marine in it) and all those other things that were happening when i was born. So I was super shocked by the constant turmoil of the Lebanese culture and people. Just driving through some neighborhoods you can feel the animosity simmering underneath a pasted on smile.