MWA Newsletter, Observing The World, -  Aug 13, 2025

Mountains and Waters Alliance – quick thoughts and August events

Announcements:

Here are a few upcoming events.

August 12 and following Wednesdays, online, 6:30 Central Time:

Zen study group resumes this Wednesday, and continues weekly through September when I leave for the book tour. It will probably continue into the fall, led by senior students, or a new topic may be chosen. Topic is a philosophical text, the Samdhinirmocana, considered a precursor of Yogacara Buddhism. (You don’t have to understand that to join the class.)

Let me add that studying this text was extremely helpful to me in forming what I teach now.

To enroll or to ask questions, email me at shodo@mountainsandwatersalliance.org.

August 17: Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Northfield, 10 am Central Time. I’ll be one of three authors giving brief presentations for the Sunday service, which is in Northfield, Minnesota. For local people.

August 17: online interview about the book, 5 pm Central Time, at https://prn.live/. Recording will be available later at https://resistanceradioprn.podbean.com/. Resistance Radio is a weekly show with Derrick Jensen, sometimes known as the poet-philosopher of the environmental movement. He asked great questions, as he always does.

 

Thoughts: “We understand that these are our last days.”

Remembering Anas Al Sharif, a well-known journalist with Al-Jazeera. I want to note that he is accused of being part of Hamas. I thought this was false; the answer may be more complicated. Taking a deep breath, I offer you his final letter, regardless of his alliance. The letter speaks for itself, of love and faith.

This is my will and my final message. If these words reach you, know that Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice. First, peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings.

Allah knows I gave every effort and all my strength to be a support and a voice for my people, ever since I opened my eyes to life in the alleys and streets of the Jabalia refugee camp. My hope was that Allah would extend my life so I could return with my family and loved ones to our original town of occupied Asqalan (Al-Majdal). But Allah’s will came first, and His decree is final. I have lived through pain in all its details, tasted suffering and loss many times, yet I never once hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or falsification—so that Allah may bear witness against those who stayed silent, those who accepted our killing, those who choked our breath, and whose hearts were unmoved by the scattered remains of our children and women, doing nothing to stop the massacre that our people have faced for more than a year and a half.

I entrust you with Palestine—the jewel in the crown of the Muslim world, the heartbeat of every free person in this world. I entrust you with its people, with its wronged and innocent children who never had the time to dream or live in safety and peace. Their pure bodies were crushed under thousands of tons of Israeli bombs and missiles, torn apart and scattered across the walls.

I urge you not to let chains silence you, nor borders restrain you. Be bridges toward the liberation of the land and its people, until the sun of dignity and freedom rises over our stolen homeland. I entrust you to take care of my family. I entrust you with my beloved daughter Sham, the light of my eyes, whom I never got the chance to watch grow up as I had dreamed.

I entrust you with my dear son Salah, whom I had wished to support and accompany through life until he grew strong enough to carry my burden and continue the mission.

I entrust you with my beloved mother, whose blessed prayers brought me to where I am, whose supplications were my fortress and whose light guided my path. I pray that Allah grants her strength and rewards her on my behalf with the best of rewards.

I also entrust you with my lifelong companion, my beloved wife, Umm Salah (Bayan), from whom the war separated me for many long days and months. Yet she remained faithful to our bond, steadfast as the trunk of an olive tree that does not bend—patient, trusting in Allah, and carrying the responsibility in my absence with all her strength and faith.

I urge you to stand by them, to be their support after Allah Almighty. If I die, I die steadfast upon my principles. I testify before Allah that I am content with His decree, certain of meeting Him, and assured that what is with Allah is better and everlasting.

O Allah, accept me among the martyrs, forgive my past and future sins, and make my blood a light that illuminates the path of freedom for my people and my family. Forgive me if I have fallen short, and pray for me with mercy, for I kept my promise and never changed or betrayed it.

Do not forget Gaza… And do not forget me in your sincere prayers for forgiveness and acceptance.

Anas Jamal Al-Sharif

I only wish to honor his faith and courage. I will chant for him, in the 49 days of my own tradition.

If you would like to offer something to his people, here are some suggestions:

1. Leonard Education Organization.  education is resistance.  LE.O supports mostly underserved Palestinians in their journey for higher education, wherever they can be placed.  The organization provides basic needs rather than scholarships. LE.O students have attended several colleges in Minnesota, and elsewhere, not only in the U.S.
2. These are all well-known and reliable. I’m trusting you can find them: Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF), Anera, UNRWA, World Central Kitchen, HEAL Palestine, Gaza Soup Kitchen. The most famous of them are not short on money, but on ability to reach the people in need without being killed themselves.

I also share this essay, which proposes that what is happening in Gaza is not very different from what is likely to happen to the rest of us, if we do not stop it. https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/killing-witness-gaza

I have to go. Love and peace to you all.

 

Shodo

for Mountains and Waters Alliance