Talking to His Messenger and through him to all mankind in order to identify the line that he should pursue in calling for Islam and in his relations with all people, God says:

{Unto this, then, summon (O Muhammad). And be thou upright as thou art commanded}

Call for your God, and be upright in your call. Let the people know what the basis of your call is: Allah's oneness which all religions meet on. And be upright to ensure that the end is associated with the beginning. Do not deviate to the left or to the right, and do not care about any criticism.

Do not let people affect you either by intimidation or by providing carrots.

Resisting any temptation

The Messenger did follow this line. The people who followed him grew to the extent that Quraish felt that it was endangered. Thinking that the Messenger might be seeking some sort of political position or social status, they went to his uncle Abu-Talib and told him that they were ready to give his nephew all the money he wants and any woman he wishes to marry.

Moreover, if leadership was his goal, they were ready to make him their ruler. The Messenger then said his famous saying: "If they put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left hand, I would not forego the call until I die in pursuing it". He said that because he was ordered to stay upright, and to resist all temptations.

In another Ayah, Allah talks about these temptations

{And surely they had purposed to turn you away from that which We have revealed to you, that you should forge against Us other than that, and then they would certainly have taken you for a friend. And had it not been that We had already established you, you would certainly have been near to incline to them a little}

{In that case We would certainly have made you to taste a double (punishment) in this life and a double (punishment) after death, then you would not have found any helper against Us}, telling the Messenger about what Quraish would give him if he accepts to forego his call, and what happens if he does accept.

Then, they offered truce telling the Prophet that they were ready to worship his God for one year in return for worshipping their gods in the following year but God revealed the following Ayah

{Say: O unbelievers I do not serve that which you serve, Nor do you serve Him Whom I serve Nor am I going to serve that which you serve, Nor are you going to serve Him Whom I serve You shall have your religion and I shall have my religion}

He was ordered by God to remain upright and hold to the line of Islam {Continue then in the right way as you are commanded, as also he who has turned (to Allah) with you, and be not inordinate (O men!), surely He sees what you do}

Those who believed in God's Message should also remain upright and they should not inordinate, meaning that they should not follow another line that is different than Islam. The Messenger was asked to give an advice that one should always adhere to. He said: "Say: Allah is my Lord and then stay upright".

Happiness

There are several Ayahs that link uprightness to happiness. God says: {Surely those who say, Our Lord is Allah, then they continue on the right way, they shall have no fear nor shall they grieve}.

Another Ayah says: {(As for) those who say: Our Lord is Allah, then continue in the right way, the angels descend upon them, saying: Fear not, nor be grieved, and receive good news of the garden which you were promised: We are your guardians in this world's life and in the hereafter, and you shall have therein what your souls desire and you shall have therein what you ask for: A provision from the Forgiving, the Merciful}

Being upright means reading Allah’s Book and adhering to all what it says. If, for example, Allah has called on man not to lie, as He actually did, man has to be truthful in everything he says. The same thing goes for betrayal and adultery that Allah has prohibited, or for being good to one's parents that Allah has urged us to do. To be upright means that we have to abide by Allah's Book, abstaining from all what is prohibited, and performing all the duties it called for.

Thus, the Ayah that links the belief in God to the necessity of being upright means that the belief in God implies that you have to think about Allah’s satisfaction in everything you do or say, whether social, economic or political. This is true in particular with respect to issues that have to do with the fate of the nation, since some of the political leaders might be corrupt.

The Messenger is quite clear in his sayings that fasting and praying, no matter how devoted one is to them, do not make the worshipper upright. Imam Ali says: The best happiness is being upright in your religion, and the Messenger says: Be upright and you will succeed.

Islam therefore could be expressed in these two phrases: God is our Lord and being upright. Thus, we have to educate ourselves and be brought up on this basis. We should not deviate leftwards or rightwards to satisfy our desires. Allah says: {And know that this is My path, the right one therefore follow it, and follow not other way, for they will lead you away from His way}.

This is the way that leads us to Heaven and this is what we should think about.

America continues to cover for Israel

Israel continues to confiscate the lands of the Palestinian villages, which are inhabited by this downtrodden people who still suffer from the American Israeli wrong-doing, while presenting fictitious projects that will throw their political cause into an intractable maze.

If the Zionist Army is attacking some villagers for protesting against confiscating their lands to build the “racist wall”, it does so because it is assured that it will not be confronted with any international objection, since they are afraid from "The American emperor" who protects Israel with all its atrocities, and refuses any international conference to set a solution for the Palestinian problem.

This is what happened when the Russian leader proposed such a conference. He was opposed by both the Americans and the Israelis with the latter saying that the "Jewish State does not accept the interference of any state in the world except America". The Israelis know that the American Administrations did not agree in the past and will not agree in the future on anything that might hinder the settlement Zionist strategy.

In the meantime, it tries to stall any solution to the extent that the international quadrilateral committee is virtually non-existent.

We have deduced that from the way the American President received Sharon, giving him all the financial and military support that ensures that Israel remains a formidable strike force in the region that is capable of destroying for example the Iranian nuclear actor.

As for Bush's talks with the Arab leaders, they focus on the American demand to increase oil production to promote American interests. As for the Arab vital issues they are dealt with in a celebrational manner that solves nothing. The Palestinian leader’s coming visit to the US will follow similar lines. In addition, America will ask the Palestinian Authority for some impossible demands that could destroy the Palestinian national unity.

Our problem with America lies in its universal support to Israel; even its policies towards Syria, Lebanon, Iran and several other Arab countries are based on securing Israel's security.

At a time it haunts all countries to ensure that they do not sell any arms to the Arabs on the pretext that it endangers Israel, America provides Israel with the most advanced method including WMDs. This is what all Arabs should pay attention to so that they would be aware of American's intentions.

We want the people to know what America is, and we ask ourselves as Arabs and Muslims: Why does America fight us? If some talk about the UN resolutions, the UN has fallen under the American influence and this is what we are facing in Syria and Lebanon.

Tragedies in Iraq

Iraq that has been able to deliver its government, following a very hard labor, is still under the influence of American pressures, even if from behind the curtains.

Moreover, the security situation is still claiming a large number of innocent people, as a result of sectarian complex that led its proponents to accuse other Muslims of disbelief in contrast with God's Book and the Sunnah of His Messenger. In addition, the occupation promotes this devastating climate and creates additional tragedies for the Iraqi people.

What Lebanon do we want?

The compromises that the loyalists and the opposition are reaching these days are the result of a hidden American and French interferences, although they might appear to be seeking a national and democratic solution.

But is there a political and economic agenda that provides solutions for the problems left by the previous administrations such as the public dept and the corruption that has even reached the judiciary and turned the reality into a game of politics?

The people demand those who present themselves to present such an agenda. But could those who failed the test of ruling in the past present themselves as teachers of the future?

They will only reproduce the tragedy they were responsible for.

The old/new question which everyone has to answer: What kind of Lebanon do we want? What is the lesson of our past experience? Is it the responsibility of the external force or of those who accept to be employed by the external forces?

Are we going to replace an Arab guardianship by an international one?