My interview has been featured on OhMyNews International. You can read it here.

Excerpt:

I want my message to be clear. Writing for me is a way of reaching people who otherwise would not hear my message. I do not write simply to entertain. Every book, every fable, and even every line on a page has some deeper meaning. It can be a moral message, a spiritual message, or a social commentary. When conveying it, I do not want to make it too obvious, but I also do not want to obscure the meaning. It is a thin line to walk, but, hopefully, I traverse it well.

Very few non-arabs have been more vocal and more supportive of the Palestinian cause than I. From the time that I learned of the injustices committed against them by Israel, America, and by other arab countries, I have stood by them and defended their rights unflinchingly. But now, the situation has changed. The enemy is no longer Israel. The enemy is no longer America. The enemy is not even other arab states. In the words of Pogo, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.”

When the violence is no longer us against them; when the violence is us against us, I can no longer defend the rights of those who wish to oppress themselves. I have seen this in my own (African American) community and other places around the world (India vs. Pakistan vs. Bangladesh for example). It is always ugly. It is always self-defeating, and it will always end in loss for both sides.

It is not a civil war, for there is nothing civil about it. It is pure chaos. I will not blame Hamas or blame Fatah. The blame lies on the Palestinian people as a whole and on the Muslim Ummah. We all hold responsibility for this. If there is any shred of dignity left in our spirit, we will stop fighting one another, stop blaming the “enemy” for our losses, and start helping ourselves.

Last night (New Year’s Eve) was a time of celebration, merrymaking, laughter….and shooting. Every year, all around America, people walk outside (at least I hope they don’t do this inside), point their guns (God only knows what else they do with them) into the sky and fire them. Most of the time, that is the end of the story, but sometimes people get hurt or even die.

Many times individuals involved in celebrating New Year’s Eve with gunfire do not realize the dangers posed by their actions. Researchers report that a bullet fired into the air can climb two miles into the air and remain in flight for more than a minute. As it falls, the bullet reaches a velocity of 300 to 700 feet per second. A velocity of only 200 feet per second is sufficient to penetrate the human skull.

In other countries, people fire guns into the air to celebrate weddings and other occasions. My only question is: What is the purpose? To make noise? (OK, one other question). You can make noise with fireworks (or firecrackers). Why risk your life and the lives of innocent people living around you just for that? It must be something else. I mean, why do these people have guns anyway? There are only two reasons: 1. to hunt animals or 2. to hurt/kill people.

If you must own a gun, it should not be used as a badge of honor or as a plaything for celebratory purposes. What message does it send to your children? Don’t play with guns except on New Years Eve? Please, people, grow up. “Civilized” people should be civilized at all times, regardless of how joyous or cataclysmic a situation may be.