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[Quasim Hamdani]

Listening to MLK speeches, one observes that inspiration is universal and unbounded by religious dogmas. The Quran is the only authentic source of universal inspiration. MLK's speech in 1967 on opposition to the Vietnam war was inspired and remains so to this day because the Quranic, universal truths are the foundation of his message.

"...This I believe to be the privilege and the burden of all of us who deem ourselves bound by allegiances and loyalties which are broader and deeper than nationalism and which go beyond our nation's self-defined goals and positions. We are called to speak for the weak, for the voiceless, for the victims of our nation, for those it calls "enemy," for no document from human hands can make these humans any less our brothers.

And as I ponder the madness of Vietnam and search within myself for ways to understand and respond in compassion, my mind goes constantly to the people of that peninsula. I speak now not of the soldiers of each side, not of the ideologies of the Liberation Front, not of the junta in Saigon, but simply of the people who have been living under the curse of war for almost three continuous decades now. I think of them, too, because it is clear to me that there will be no meaningful solution there until some attempt is made to know them and hear their broken cries. " [Riverside Church NYC April 4, 1967]
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May Allah Bless You.

Quasim