theislam101.com - TheIslam101.com is a site by Ghazal Omid, Author of Living in Hell, expert on Iranian politics

There has been many events in 2006, some undoubtedly quite offensive to God. Some were justified and some were purely stupid; so much so that the angels must have about had it with us all. Only Lord our God is the definitive judge of which of our actions were right and which were not.

That being said, let's you and I stand back like a judge at a chess match and review recent events and our own actions in slow motion, one in particular, to see if we can figure out where we weigh in on God's scale. Hopefully, we will be able to view our actions through a different shade of rose-colored glasses. It's always useful to look at one's intended good deeds, and try to see where we are blindfolded by our own ignorance.

This is a new year and new day. Hopefully, with God's help, we will be able to come with up with a way to make 2007 a special year; a year of winning over evil, a sin-free, guilt-free year and a peaceful world, not only by and for good-doers but for and via every conscious man and woman.

For many Muslims, the most significant event of 2006 was the execution of Saddam Hussein. He was by all measures a vicious dictator who in his almost three decades of terror ruthlessly murdered as many innocent people as any other dictator on earth but, strangely, after his death, he has become an unsung hero for some and evil incarnate for others.

Like me, and Iranian, so many were directly affected or somehow touched by his brutal regime and inhuman acts. When Saddam invaded Iran, he killed over 500,000 of our young men and caused the death of many thousands more civilians. One million Iranians lost their livelihood and had to relocate. His men in uniform committed innumerable unspeakable crimes. When he leveled Khoramshahr, a city of half a million people, he even killed the dogs and cats, and his rape squads — famous for their specialty — raped literally thousands of women and girls.

He even killed 5,000 of his own Kurdish people. The pictures of dead babies on their dead mother's breast, still haunt me. Two of my cousins were captured by his men during the war. One was missing for 7 years; both have horrific stories to tell. When captured, they were a youthful 18 years of age. They both came back an aged 25 years old, gray-haired and looking much older than their age. This was just the cream de-lait of his crimes.

Of those who cry for Saddam, few can recall his human side. Yet, the people of Tikrit, his hometown, remember him as a hero! This is strange to so many us, especially after seeing the mass graves in the Shiah south of Iraq. But some who call themselves a Sunni say he was their man.

His loyalists were grateful that under his regime Sunni Iraqis had the best of everything, including freedom. The question these folks should ask themselves is: who should pay for the millions of lives he took? Just before taking his last breath, this merciless dictator was handed his own red card just as his murder squads used to hand red cards to their victims. One wonders, did he ever, during his terrible regime, ask himself if he was truly doing the best God asked of him?

Nevertheless, while he waited to be hung, like any other human being, he was, perhaps for the first time, regretful. He had tears in his eyes and did his Arabic prayers and last words as any other person in his situation would do.

So, the question remains, did we kill Saddam in justice or did we commit a sin and murder him?

Only God can tell us if we did the right thing but God has a sentence in the Koran that says those who kill the innocent shall pay in both worlds and He will see to that.

As a Muslim, in my humble opinion, Saddam had it coming. And, I am convinced his punishment has just begun. As I have written in past articles, there are two types of sins in this life.

Some sins are private. You do something awful. You don't pray. You forget to call your mum or dad. You hurt yourself physically... and thousand of other scenarios that can be considered a sin. These are all private sins. As long as you don't involve anyone else, as long as you don't hurt anyone, you will be able to ask God for forgiveness. That doesn't mean that you are going to get away with the sin scot free. But, there is a likelihood, that Lord our God in His kindness will have mercy on us. If we do something wrong out of desperation or unintentionally He shall forgive, as He has promised in holy books.

But, our good Lord help us if we commit a sin that involves others, particularly the innocent. One thing that Sunni people who cry for Saddam need to remember, crying for a murderer, who killed children and innocent babies in cold blood is also a sin.

You cannot be angry for the death of someone so evil whose lethal gas killed five thousand innocent Kurds instantly. For what, might I ask? For power? For money? What reason will he offer to God? As we all know, only our Lord can give or take a life. That is why taking a life is considered a great sin.

I believe in my heart and soul that we did a good thing in taking one so evil off the face of earth. Saddam's death was not revenge. It was something that we all had to do to make sure evil is not winning. Those who question it should watch out because, according to God, helping evil, no matter how little, is also considered evil.

Ghazal Omid is an Authentic Shiah Islam scholar and the author of book "Living in Hell". She is an advocate. Her NGO is Iran & its future.org. Her website www.theislam101.com contains her religion blogs discusses issues in contemporary Islam for the uninitiated.

Webster definition of scholar is "Learned Person." Ghazal Omid is definitely learned. www.livinginhell.com

Updated May 20. 2008

Saddam..... A HERO!