During the Christmas break I received an event request through Facebook. I clicked on it thinking it was another New Year’s Eve party event coming up, but I was surprised to see it was an event created by my childhood friend, Shukri. In it she eloquently wrote a very personal account of injustice against her family. To make a long story short, after her little sister was bit by a pit-bull dog, Shukri’s mother was involved in a verbal altercation with the owners of the dog. Shukri’s family called the police to intervene. When the police came, the dog owners accused Shukri’s mother of assault and she was arrested with assault with a weapon. Shukri says they didn’t even consider the young girl who had been bitten by the dog. Shukri pointed out that there were many loops and sloppy mistakes made by the police in the ordeal, and she has decided to create a protest event that would speak out against this injustice. I was so struck not only by her family tragedy and her eloquence, but also by her resilience and faith in God. Reading through the comments left on the event page, many showed their support through the words of God: “May Allah bring your family justice.” “Just keep God in mind because He can get you out of anything. And also Allah doesn't put you in a situation you can't handle, so you can never lose hope.” “The best thing to do is stay strong and have faith. . . . Everything will work out by God’s will.” In times of crisis, Shukri and her supporters have turned to God to seek consolation. It is through her that I am reminded of countless times where people have faced adversity and looked to God or a higher spiritual for guidance. Christians believe Jesus died on the cross to atone the sins of the people. He sacrificed his life to remove injustice on earth. Jews believe their ancestors escaped enslavement in Egypt and made the journey through the desert with Moses waiting for justice to come. And it came through Mount Sinai with God creating the covenant, and promising to protect the Jews. In more relevant cases, I watch international news, about Iraqi families torn apart by war, and always, there appears a mother of the family, crying hysterically, and screaming God’s name, saying, “Allah will bring us justice! Allah will not forget us. He who is just and supreme will always answer our prayers.” It is a bizarre combination of a stoic comment made by an emotional woman. Another account I remember was when I was stranded in Lebanon during the war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006, I would listen to people around me and on TV repeating God’s name, and reading prayers as often as they breathed. I sensed that this gave them solace and security while Israeli jets zoomed over our apartments to bomb villages. This is something I believe atheists can’t ever explain. They are very intelligent and logical in their reasoning against religion. But could they ever explain Jesus’ sacrifice? The Jews’ patience? The stoic faith Iraqi mothers have and the prayers of Lebanese refugees? The determination of my childhood friend Shukri? This is something that transcends beyond the logical mind, and I don’t think anyone can really ever understand it. Now, we don’t know the whole story in Shukri’s mother’s case, but one thing is for sure, the family is not counting on Canadian democracy to serve justice, they’re counting on Islam, their religion, which ultimately will never let them down. This is a remarkable testament of Shukri’s strong faith that allows her to rise up and fight for injustice against her mother. And everywhere in the world, past and present, there are people who believe justice will be served whether it be on Earth or not. Salaam. (If you are interested in learning more about Shukri’s story, go to: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=226921624872&index=1 “Mother unjustly arrested/convicted- PROTEST!!” on Facebook)