Welcome to the site of 
Al-Hajj 
Usama Al-Atar

القارئ الحاج أسامة العطار

THANK YOU!

A Message from Al-Hajj Usama Al-Atar

In the Name of Allah (swt) the Beneficent the Merciful

All praise due to Allah (swt) and may His peace and blessings be bestowed upon all His messengers and apostles, starting with the Prophet Adam (as) and concluding with the last messenger, the Prophet Muhammad, may Allah’s peace and blessings be bestowed upon him and his divine family.

Dear brothers and sisters, Assalam Alaikum,

I would like to thank Allah (swt) and Ahl Al-Bayt (as) for all their blessings during my ordeal on October 30-31, 2011. I spent my time praying to Allah (swt) and seeking the intercession of the honourable Fatemah Az-Zahraa (as), our 12^th Imam (as), Imam Al-Baqir (as) and Ummul Baneen (as). It was because of their intercession as well as the efforts and prayers of believers, that Allah (swt) saved me.

Speaking of believers, Allah (swt) and Ahl Al-Bayt (as) gifted me another great blessing: you! Genuine supporters from all countries prayed for me and helped my cause in any way they could. I would like to express a sincere gratitude to each and every person who kindly offered his/her time to help my family and me during those difficult hours. I was truly humbled by your love, kindness and thoughtfulness. I received many messages of support and affection that sincerely demonstrated people’s love and care. You are my inspiration and I am, indeed, proud to be a humble servant of believers in the path of Ahl Al-Bayt (as). Please continue keeping me in your prayers. Thank you!

I would also like to give special thanks to the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), the University of Alberta, the Canadian and international media, all religious institutions and organizations who wrote letters and held prayer sessions for me, some members of the Canadian parliament who expressed their support, as well as all my friends, viewers and supporters from all over the globe who worked in many different ways to help me and my family.

Finally, I am certain Allah (swt) has wisdom in everything He does, and there are many lessons to be learned here, but I will only mention five. First, let us remember to always be united and work together for the betterment of our World, as the holy Prophet (s) said, “Love for others what you love for yourself.” We saw what can be achieved when we all come together, leaving our little differences aside, to help a cause for the sake of Allah (swt). Let us keep that momentum going. Second, we should stand for social justice and for people’s rights, irrespective of their religion, ethnicity or background. Imam Ali (as) states, “And be aware that people fall under one of two categories: they are either your brother and sister in faith, or they are your counterpart in humanity.” Third, we must not forget to always pray for those who are less fortunate and those who are suffering from poverty and lack of security. I witnessed the power of prayers, and there are many people who are in need of our prayers; Imam Ali (as) says, “Du’a (prayer) is the weapon of the believer.” Fourth, we must increase our faith and belief in Allah (swt) and Ahl Al-Bayt (as) as the way news spread within few hours and people’s compassionate reactions demonstrated to me the significance of belief and love to Allah (swt) and Ahl Al-Bayt (as). Fifth, let us always do what ever we can to serve Allah (swt) and Ahl Al-Bayt (as) so that we can become like Prophet Easa (as) when he says in the holy Qur’an, “And He made me blessed everywhere I go” (19:31). We should improve our character and behaviour, taking care of people, our planet and all the blessings Allah (swt) is giving us, such that we become sincere followers of Ahl Al-Bayt (as) making them proud to have us in their camp.

May Allah (swt) shower you all with His blessings and bestow His divine mercy upon you and your families.

Thank you,

Usama Al-Atar

I am a Human

I am a human. I have a mind, and I have a heart,

I want to live in peace, equality and justice. Don’t tear them apart.

I can feel oppression; I can feel injustice and I can feel humiliation,

Can I not speak about freedom, or call for communication?

I see people, standing in peace, with a flower in their hands,

Requesting their governments to meet their demands.

Demands for justice, for equality, for respect,

Is that a crime for people to ask or even to expect?

“Go home,” they were told, “Justice is a crime;

Accept the status quo; you’re the slaves of this time.”

Flowers are met with bullets in the head

The call for justice is killed in its bed

Children screaming as their fathers lie dead

Calls for help, from their eyes can be read

Mothers weeping for sons covered in red

They all cried in pain and said,

“I am a human. I have a mind, and I have a heart,

I want to live in peace, equality and justice. Don’t tear them apart.”

In an era of oppression and lack of justice, at a time when the words “human rights” did not exist, came the call of the Prophet Muhammad from the deserts of Arabia saying, “Love for people what you love for yourself; and detest for them what you detest for yourself.” He read to them verses of the Holy Qur’an, “O people, We created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes so that you can get to know one another. Indeed, the most honorable of you before God, is the one with most piety.” He abolished tyranny, established human and gender equality, restored people’s confidence in social justice and gave value to people’s rights. His message was then carried by his student, and his successor, Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, who wrote a letter to his governor of Egypt, Malik Al-Ashtar, in which he said, “Treat all people with equality and justice, for people fall under one of two categories: they are either your brothers and sisters in faith, or they are your counterpart in humanity.” Such messages are the principles of human rights echoed through the centuries until this day by leaders such as Mr. Kofi Annan, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations, who quoted Imam Ali’s principles of human equality in a speech he gave in 1997, commemorating the 50^th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

According to Article 1 of this Declaration, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” Article 2 states, “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.” Why is it then that we see some people considering themselves superior to others for no reason other than wealth, race or simply royal blood and nothing much is being said or done about it? Is that not a violation of the first two Articles of the U.N.’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights?

Article 3 says, “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.” While Article 5 clearly states, “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

Islamic nations rising today, in peaceful rallies and demonstrations, carrying no weapons or arms, rather raising roses and flowers, calling for equality and justice, are practicing the basics of human rights taught by the Prophet Muhammad and endorsed in a Universal Declaration for Human Rights. Yet, people lacking the basic understanding of humanity, are responding with bullets, machine guns, rockets and fighter jets, in a clear violation of the U.N.’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights. People are being killed even inside hospitals and doctors are getting beaten and prevented from curing those who are wounded. The atrocities committed today against innocents in several countries such as Bahrain and Saudi Arabia among others, are crimes one cannot stand silent about.

We do not support war, or agree with violence. But sometimes, dialogue alone may not solve the problem, as was recently demonstrated in Libya. We are gathered here today, peacefully protesting the basic violations of human rights, and calling on the Honorable Prime Minister and the Canadian government to use its entire means to get the U.N. Security Council to take all necessary steps to stop the violations of its Declaration. These steps must come swiftly to prevent further calamities.

One day, when my children ask me about what I did when I saw people getting killed and oppressed, I do not want to tell them that I stood silently watching them getting killed, and did not do anything about it. Martin Luther King Junior said, “Justice denied anywhere diminishes justice everywhere.” Let us unite together as counterparts in humanity, doing whatever we can to help save our fellow humans from such atrocities and try to restore justice.

Al-Hajj Usama Al-Atar's album, Karbala's My Heart, consists of eight poems recited in English commemorating the tragedy of Imam Hussein (as). To listen to clips click on the link below
http://www.alulbayt.com/atar/index.html