Another Point of View: A Guest Blog by Royal Star Allah!

My Brother, asked me if he could Guest Blog, I had no idea he would be doing THIS! I say Welcome...to Another Point of View! (YOu can find my brother on facebook under the name 'Kokayi Tehuti Nosakhere')

"Disclaimer: The following mental food is inspired by THEM! Open Minds please proceed.

In the fiery tone that has made the Minister a household name: “You ask, ‘Farrakhan, why do you do these things?’ Why? I do these things so that you know what a free man looks like!” To which, he, naturally, receives thunderous applause.

I. A Mental Frame

In the age of Obama (i.e. 2010,) when the possibility of a Black (Original) Man becoming President of the United States is a LIVING REALITY, many who read this blog may not truly comprehend (i.e. understand) the NATURE of Salih Muhammad’s interest in the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and Minister Louis Farrakhan. Some may think he possesses a simple “religious fervor” shared by many church-going Christians and assign to him the emotions of that viewpoint. I beg his pardon. The emotional connection is not the same. There is no mystery in the Islam that Salih practices.

I know, because I share in his “cosmology.” I too value The Honorable Elijah Muhammad and Minister Louis Farrakhan. I see them as extremely important to the inheritance of FREEDOM, JUSTICE and EQUALITY currently enjoyed by the Original Man and Woman. Their sacrifice and work on our behalf, directly contributed to the possibility of an Obama Administration.

In the following brief words, I would like to explore WHY the “cosmology,” or “integrated worldview,” presented by The Honorable Elijah Muhammad (THEM) to the Original Man in the wilderness of North America is of such high value. After I present my evidence, you may wish to accept another point of view of our dear Brother.

A “cosmology” presents the answers to life’s most nagging problems. It is the food that your mind feeds upon to sustain itself when placed under pressure. Depending upon the strength of an individual’s character and personality, the pressurized experience can completely transform an individual into his/her Higher Self. The Higher Self is the part which taps into the flowing divine energy that is all around us. (We do not perceive it because we eat the wrong food.)

Again, I would like to state that in the Age of Obama, it is hard to translate the PRESSURE that “Mr. Muhammad” was born into. He was born only 32 years after the conclusion of the American Civil War. By 1897, segregation was being reinforced through the first wave of the Klu Klux Klan. Lynching became a popular fear-inducing technique. The former slaves could not be allowed to act as full citizens; to do so, would annihilate the ego structure of the former slave masters. With their manhood on the line, white men and women stepped up the terror campaign.



Legally, the 14th Amendment guaranteed the former slaves a certain degree of citizenship. As of July 9, 1868, the United States of America officially agreed, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” However, the second part is the most important: “Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”

To be blunt: that didn’t happen. From birth THEM’s mind was saturated with the fear of being killed – at any time - to maintain the Southern man’s ego structure. The Original community did not stand idly by and be killed, however. Organizations were formed to defend the community.

The NAACP was institutionalized when “Mr. Muhammad” was 12 years old. Marcus Mosiah Garvey electrified the consciousness of the Original Man in direct opposition to the fear that saturated their every move, in 1919, when THEM was 22. The Universal Negro Improvement Association was destroyed beginning in 1923. Garvey was deported in 1927, when Elijah was 30.

On the verge of being 33, THEM encountered a strange man in Detroit. This man gave him a key to perceiving the world in a manner he had never envisioned before. In fact, the environment which nurtured his mind did not provide him the necessary intellectual stimulus to generate this mentality. If it were not for the experience of the strange man’s presence he would not think the way he now thought.

For the first time in his life, The Honorable Elijah Muhammad experienced the relief of FEAR. He was at peace – mentally. He was no longer scared of white people! Why? (See the cosmology) This achievement – intellectually – was remarkable for any Original Man from his time period. However, it was about to be tested.

In 1942, at the age of 45, he was arrested for refusing the draft. (Later, one of his students, “Muhammad Ali” would have a similar experience.) For four years the Honorable Elijah Muhammad withstood the extreme pressure presented by the American prison environment upon the Original Man’s mentality. The experience completely transformed him. While in the belly, THEM chose to adhere to the cosmology the strange man shared with him. It nearly killed him, as he was completely dependent upon the American prisons system. However, he survived!

So, when he emerged from prison, after being separated from all means of physical support, with his mind and body intact, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad was MAGNETIC.

By magnetic, I mean exactly that: highly charged! His mind was like a diamond. The prison experience forced him to concentrate all his energies toward one goal: adherence to the Supreme Wisdom. In ways that being physically free could never have taught him, he learned what it truly meant to be an Original Man in the wilderness of North America. Consequently, his level of mental perception was greater than those around him when emerged from this cocoon.

In 1946, “Mr. Muhammad” remained in an America that still demeaned him as an ex-slave. Yet, he refused to be treated as such. And, he demanded America treat him as a full citizen. Again, the level of personal attainment reached by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad is difficult to communicate. His entire life was spent under the pressure of immediate death. At 49, he was finally more powerful than the pressure being exerted against him.

It is for this achievement that I am interested in the life of Mr. Muhammad. It is for this very same achievement that I marvel at Minister Malcolm X and Minister Louis Farrakhan.

I implore you to continue choosing to read this blog. It is specifically designed to expand your mind. Unlike the majority of Original Men in America, Salih’s mentality is not saturated in fear. Like our Brave Ancestors, he perceives the condition we find ourselves in different light than the majority view. His worldview is based on the possibility of FREEDOM, JUSTICE and EQUALITY – with or without an Obama Administration.

Join us in exploring a “cosmology” where jewels abound for those with ears to hear.

Sincerely,
Royal Star Allah"

"I Beg Your Pardon!"

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

*Disclaimer:Disclaimer: This blog inspired by the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. Only OPEN minds should continue reading.

Written Largely with help from Bro. Deen Muhammad, Mosque #27!

“Look at how wise the God is brother. See, when God raises a Messenger he’s an intercessor by Allah’s Permission: I BEG your Pardon. God and A Messenger. A Messenger BEGGING God’s Pardon for You. And then God said I never heard of one. See you’re pardoned. Your Sins are forgiven. And you are declared to be the righteous in spite of your weakness. If your faith in Allah will lead you to better conduct you must do it now. Muslims don’t delay, whatever you know you’re doing that’s not right, tighten it. Because the Quran says I that day only your righteousness will sustain you. And you have to be the moral superior of your enemies who come against you in order to get victory over your enemies. So we cant hold the name of God in unrighteousness. We have to clean it up. Hurry Brothers and sisters, Satan is at the door. Hurry, Hurry" Transcribed from the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan....The Departure, November 18, 1989, Cleveland, OH



“This is the fifth in a series of articles about the huge events of October 7th and the 13th, of this year (1992) which revolved around glorious acts of the Honorable Louis Farrakhan.

It is written that one day God said to Moses that He was going to wipe out—kill—all of the people whom He commissioned Moses to teach and lead. He told Moses he would make a greater nation out of him.

What did those people do that caused God to want to wipe them out? How did Moses react to Him (God) and the people, at that time and why?

Moses begged God not to do so. Moreover, he humbly said to his Lord that if He would not forgive His people, then he asked his God to blot him off from the book of life.

Moses loved his God and God’s people, with an intensity that was of the same quality of the love in the same God Who produced him, to save His people. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad demonstrated this same kind of love, and then some, from 1931 right through the time that He departed, in 1975, and even up to this very moment.

At this point, I repeated a point I’ve made in another article, with significant additions. It was:

One day, nearly 60 years ago—maybe 1932—Master Fard Muhammad said to his servant, ‘Come on Karriem. We got about all we’re going to get.’ The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, instantly, humbly and tearfully responded, ‘Master, if you destroy them, destroy me’.”
http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/Columns_4/article_6969.shtml

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad begged our pardon. THAT is tremendous LOVE. A man Loved us SO much that he was willing to give His Very Life for Us. Today, the Minister, is the one in whom the dwelling spirit of THE Lord and of Our Lord, repeats this pattern!(Which is all really ONE spirit or mind, if we understand). His very existence is GRACE. He is not just the result of Allah's grace. HE IS ALLAH'S GRACE! HE is the embodiment of that Attribute of Allah. Allah appeared to us IN the Person....

“Are there any Muslims other than the righteous?” Sentence 16, the second person responds, “I beg your pardon! I have never heard of one.” Please lookup “pardon.”

Problem Number 32. If there were seventeen million Muslims by nature in North America, yet devils by circumstance; then were said Muslims set to be destroyed, due to being “poison and rusty?” Did we need someone to “beg our pardon?”

Did “one of the Prophets in the early days” say only “one hundred and forty four thousand” out of the seventeen million “were to return to their original Land?”

Mathematically, if only “one hundred and forty—four thousand,” out of seventeen million, would “take the Knowledge of their own”, then that would be less than one percent of the population. Yet, since the entire seventeen million were “poison and rusty” and could be destroyed, if it were not for the Compassion, the Beneficence, the Mercy of the Saviour and the Deliverer, then we needed him to “pardon” us.

The Messenger “begged our pardon.” He begged for us to be pardoned” from being punished for our sins.

There are VERY deep principle in this. I’ll get to it next time!

A Brief Note On Success

Holy Quran 23:1 "Successful indeed are the believers"

“The Messenger has taught that the muslim’s prayer is a primary means of the realization of the divinity if and in man. He has declared that the object of the muslim’s prayer is the purification of the heart. He has further explained that the purification of the heart is necessary for spiritutal advancement. Therefore, as one advances spiritually, one comes to realize one’s own divinity. To fully realize one’s divinity is to attain to the complete development of the self. The Arabic word generally translated to mean success carries a broad significance. It signifies the complete development of one’s inner faculties. Messenger Muhammad’s life shows that success in life is gained through the realization of the god or divine in man. To fully realize divine in oneself is to fully be oneself. This is success.”~This is the One

In Search of the Messiah...'And Jesus was a Sign!'

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
The whole world has been in search of a Messiah. Muslims and Christians tend to believe that he came 2,000 years ago as Jesus, son of Mary. The Jews are a more theologically accurate in their belief that Jesus of 2,000 years ago was not the Messiah.

Before I continue its appropriate to quote Islamic Scholar A. Maudidi. He states, “If one takes a biased view of something and deliberately nourishes prejudice against it in his mind, then he can neither see any virtue in it nor can hear anything in its favor no can (he) open his heart to consider it dispassionately. This is the law of nature.”

If we want to find the Messiah we must examine the prerequisites to Messiahship. We must examine the function and role of a Messiah and THEN look for the man that would fulfill such roles.

One of the first mentions of this Messiah or Son of Man is found in the Book of Psalms. “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him (Psalms 8:4)?" However, in 1896, Hans Lietzmann startled the theological world by stating that this phrase could not be found in the Aramaic language, which Jesus spoke (In addition, it should be noted that this passage depicts THE Jesus being visite by God Himself.). Is there any biblical evidence of this? ABSOLUTELY! Paul writes that Jesus was a man born out of due season (1 Corinthians 15:8). This means that Jesus of 2,000 years ago was born before it was time for the Messiah to come. Thus, when he was casting out devils, they were frustrated with his timing. “And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? Art thou come hither to torment us before the time (Matt 8:30)?” Even the devils that Jesus began to deal with knew that it was not time for the end that the Messiah is to bring. The bible teaches six days shall we labor and on the seventh day shall we rest (Ex 34:21) and a day is as a thousand years (2 Peter 3:8) bringing the devils rule to a total of 6,000 years. It is AFTER Satan’s rule is over that the promised Messiah is to make himself known since this Messiah is to crush the wicked.

Jesus of 2,000 years ago was a great man. But, he was not the Messiah that we’ve thought him to be. In an article entitled "Who Do Men Say that I Am?" (The Humanist Magazine May/June 1991) writes:

Find the Rest in HURT2HEALING Magazine!
http://www.h2hmag.info/

Much thanks to Sis. Ebony S. Muhammad for the opportunity to write in her wonderful Magazine.
*A Portion of the proceeds from this month's magazine will go to support the Family of Brothers Idris and Khalifah Muhammad (May Allah Be Pleased with them). Thank You Very Much in Advance!

Yakub: Black Muslim Mythology or Scientifically Justifiable?

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Albert Einstein once stated that "Condemnation without Investigation is the height form of ignorance"

SOOO Many so-called scholard condemn Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam for somehow being "racist" This is in part due to either a) Hatred b) Ignorance c) Envy d) Selective Ignorance. Nonetheless its sad that so-called scholars have the gall to call the NOI racist but don't have the courage to do REAL research.

Minister Farrakhan on Meet the Press
"TR: Last year you gave an interview to Henry Louis Gates, a professor from Harvard, in New Yorker magazine where he asked you whether you still subscribe to the teachings of Elijah Muhammad on Yakub, a Black scientist who 6,600 years ago created the white man, and that by the end of the 20th century, a spaceship will come and rain down upon white people and people who don't embrace Islam. Do you subscribe to the teachings of Yakub, that Yakub, the black scientist, created the white man?

MLF: I subscribe to every word that the Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us. You know, it's not unreal to believe that white people-who genetically cannot produce yellow, brown or black-had a Black origin. The scholars and scientists of this world agree that the origin of man and mankind started in Africa and that the first parent of the world was black. The Qur'an says that God created Adam out of black mud and fashioned him into shape. So if white people came from the original people, the black people, what is the process by which you came to life? That is not a silly question. That is a scientific question with a scientific answer. It doesn't suggest that we are superior or that you are inferior. It suggests, however, that your birth or your origin is from the black people of this earth; superiority and inferiority is determined by our righteousness and not by our color.
Mr. Elijah Muhammad advanced an argument that caucasians are not native to any area on the Earth. They are not the indigenous people on any part of the planet. Someone was always present before they set foot on the soil of whatever land they "discovered". These people are the most recent people on the planet. Since they were not always living side by side with the original inhabitants of the earth, where did they come from? How did they come about? Did they just pop up out of nowhere? "

The following argument was written by a Brother I highly admire, Ali Muhammad. I could have wrote my own, LOL, but his was soooo poignant, I figured I'd just use this :) Enjoy!

The existence of an entire race of people carrying recessive genetic traits requires explanation more than theoretical speculation based on environmental change, since these same people are now dominating the world outside of the ideal enviornment in which such biological changes would be yielded.

Mr. Elijah Muhammad asserts that caucasians are the product of genetic engineering. He asserts that they are a "grafted" people.

What exactly is this "grafting"?

"Grafting", as an account offered by Mr. Muhammad, describes a process based upon marriage and procreation. It involved a subject group (a percentage of original people) and a controlled enviornment, an area where the process could go on unabated. The process involves marrying individuals of two different hues with the objective of producing children possessing the lighter of the two hues. (*Note: According to Mr. Muhammad, two dark-skinned people of the same hue were not permitted to marry.) The offspring of these unions would marry amongst themselves. Generations of progeny were born lighter than the previous generations (*Note: No dark-skinned children survived birth.) and this process carried on for 600 years, according to the account offered by Mr. Muhammad.

Now, basically, the above process which Mr. Muhammad calls "grafting" is simply...

selective breeding n.

The intentional mating of two animals in an attempt to produce offspring with desirable characteristics or for the elimination of a trait

dictionary.reference.com/search?r=2&q=selective%20breeding

It is a very real process used today by those who practice...

animal husbandry n.

The branch of agriculture concerned with the care and breeding of domestic animals such as cattle, hogs, sheep, and horses.

dictionary.reference.com/search?q=animal%20husbandry

And even among the various definitions of "graft", we find...

graft v.

3. To join or unite closely: graft new customs onto old.

In this case, the "joining" is the lighter unto the lighter for the purpose of producing a completely new people.

To those who have read about Yakub and the grafting of the white race, understand that no scientist was sitting in a lab and playing with petri dishes or whatever images come to your mind, when Mr, Muhammad's words are read.

Is selective breeding fantasy? Is selective breeding unthinkable? No. It's not science fiction. It's an ACTUAL SCIENCE that is presently being PRACTICED as you read these words.

As indicated in another thread, members of some scientific communities are beginning to consider "selection" as the means by which caucasians came about.

Quote:

"Some scientists said they suspect that white skin's rapid rise to genetic dominance may also be the product of "sexual selection," a phenomenon of evolutionary biology in which almost any new and showy trait in a healthy individual can become highly prized by those seeking mates, perhaps because it provides evidence of genetic innovativeness." - Rick Weiss (Staff Writer), Washington Post, Friday, December 16, 2005; Page A01

The Moral of this is we are foolish to condemn something without first investigating it. Let's not get caught in slander and foolery. Study. Study. Study.

He Came Alone: We Are The Overcomers

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
On July 4, 1930 Allah came to us in the Person of Master Fard Muhammad. We are forever thankful for his coming. I know the above statement requires evidence and proof but that’s not what I wanted to talk about. Master Fard Muhammad came ALONE. The scriptures say of his coming “I looked, but there was no one to help, I was appalled that no one gave support; so my own arm worked salvation for me, and my own wrath sustained me (Isaiah 63:5).” WOW! The God came and he did not have the backing of ANYONE!
Well, this is an interesting statement. Of course Allah has the backing of the angels, the righteous, the wise, etc. Yet, when he came, there was NONE. Why not? It is because as a people, we have been “despised and rejected” by everyone, including our own people. How so? When we were taken into the jungles of Africa to be made stronger than nature, no one came to recue us from our rebellious father. We were allowed to sit there and suffer. Then, after a new people were made we became the subjects of this new people.
Master Fard Muhammad came alone. Then he raised up one from amongst us, who decided that he did NOT agree with prophecy. He decided that he and his followers were commissioned to beat prophecy. What was the result? “And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation (Revelations 5:8-9).” The wise elders had to sing a NEW song. They were not singing the song of our salvation at first. They only saw a mere 144,000 of us surviving. But, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad contended, “Me and My followers DISAGREE with the old prophets.” This Man is standing totally alone, none to uphold him but the Lords right arm. The elders HAD to submit to he who was worthy, he who was willing to stand-alone.
We cannot always expect to get support. Sometimes there will be NONE willing to uphold us but HIS right arm. In a world that is built contrary to the will of God, it looks abnormal to strive to live upright. Being in a contrary world, anytime you or I stand up for truth, we often may find ourselves ostracized, slandered, hated, and despised. The scriptures read that we will be HATED for HIS names sake. He came Alone. We cannot always expect to have support for righteous endeavors. But, he came alone! And upon his coming he raised one that could stand alone with His help.
It’s not popular to wear a headpiece and garment. It’s not popular to declare I am a follower of Farrakhan. It’s not popular to be the moral conscience of in settings that are filthy. We may often find ourselves standing ALONE! But there is no need to worry. I may stand alone in Oakland while you stand alone in Alaska. Although I’m standing alone, I’m standing alone with all of you! Praise Be to Allah. Let us Stand Strong, Stand Firm, and Hold on tight to the rope of Allah and you can declare, “We are the Overcomers!”

Some Nice Verses:
1 John 5:4-For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
Holy Quran 3:160-If Allah helps you, there is none that can overcome you; and if He forsakes you, who is there that can help you after Him? And in Allah should the believers put their trust.
Revelations 21:7-He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.

Allah is…
Al-Qahhar (the Overcomer)-
Al- Azzaq- The Sustainer, The provider
Al-Wali- The Protecting Friend
Al-Hadi- The guide
AL-Wakil- The Ultimate Trustee
Al- Qadir- The Powerful
Al-Azim- The incomparably great
Al-Mu’min-The Granter of Security

Some Definitions...
Struggle: to contend with an adversary or opposing force. to contend resolutely with a task, problem, etc.; strive: to struggle for existence. to advance with violent effort: to struggle through the snow. (of athletes and competitors) to be coping with inability to perform well or to win; contend with difficulty: After struggling for the whole month of June, he suddenly caught fire and raised his batting average 30 points. a war, fight, conflict, or contest of any kind. To be strenuously engaged with a problem, task, or undertaking: struggled with his math homework.. To progress with difficulty: struggled through the novel. · Strenuous effort; striving. · Combat; strife: armed struggle.

Overcome
to get the better of in a struggle or conflict; conquer; defeat: to overcome the enemy.
to prevail over (opposition, a debility, temptations, etc.); surmount: to overcome one's weaknesses. to overpower or overwhelm in body or mind, as does liquor, a drug, exertion, or emotion: I was overcome with grief. to gain the victory; win; conquer: a plan to overcome by any means possible. To prevail over; surmount: tried to overcome the obstacles of poverty. To surmount opposition; be victorious.
overcome
O.E. ofer-cuman "to reach, overtake," also "to conquer, prevail over," from ofer "over" + cuman "to come" (see come). A common Gmc. compound (cf. M.Du. overkomen, O.H.G. ubarqueman, Ger. überkommen). In ref. to mental or chemical force, "to overwhelm, render helpless," it is in late O.E. Meaning "to surmount" (a difficulty or obstacle) is from c.1205.

In the Beginning was the Word pt 4: The Choice of God, The Voice of God

In the Name of Allah the Beneficent, the Merciful
The word ALONE is limited. There are hundreds of languages on the planet. I write this in English. You read this in English. You can understand what I write because we have an agreement on the meaning of these words. If you speak Spanish, these words alone may have the same meaning to me, but you would not understand them. Then words are limited, right? Not Quite.
To solve this problem scripturally, we must turn to the book of Genesis in a town called Babel (Gen 11:1-15). It is interesting that Babel was the pre-cursor to Babylon (and the wise know who Babylon was a sign of). In that town “all of the people used to speak the same language, and they were trying to build this tower and it says that God saw them and said that he was not pleased with what he saw. And it was He who decided to confuse their language and separate them in each way to their own area*.” WOW!! So, God is the one who decided to cause us to adopt these numerous languages, but why?
We must begin to try to get into the mind of God today. It would be one of the descendants of slaves in the modern Babylon who would become the voice of God. This one is be able to connect to people regardless of land, language, or color. These are barriers that the s-n of man is able to transcend. How? “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit (Zech 4:6).” This S-n of Man whom the world has awaited has such a beautiful spirit that when he speaks truth it can reach us ALL regardless of the language we speak. And as it was written, his sheep KNOW his VOICE*(John 10:27). Interestingly, it doesn’t say his language.
The art of communication is not merely the mixture of numerous letters that shape words. The SPIRIT that we carry when we deliver the word carries an unmatched weight. When we speak, the way we match words together, our tone, our passion, and in general the spirit we are in does just as much to convey that word as the word itself.
SOLUTIONS!! Lets personalize it! In the Old Testament the title “Messiah” is not only applied to this ONE man. It is applied to prophets, kings, and sometimes-even objects. The Messiah or s-n of man is one wiped over (anointed) with oil (the spirit of God). We ALL can be little s-n’s of man or Messiah’s. SOLUTION #1: Keep up Prayer and the Remembrance of God. The More we pray and remember our Creator the greater his spirit will be in us! SOLUTION #2: STAY IN A POSITIVE MOOD. To do this we must keep positive thoughts. Always look for the Brightside. SOLUTION #3: FIND THE S-N of MAN!!! Harken unto the Voice of the Lord (Psalms 30:2)!
PS-I Know some of ya’ll are wondering why I omit the letter “o” from the title Son of Man. More on this next time

*Quote from Min. Abel Muhammad
*For those still reading, definitions are important! Voice- “Sound produced by and characteristic of a specific person or animal. Such sound used to represent the person or being who produces it, or such sound considered separately from the utterer, esp. as the subject of a verb of speaking. The expressed will or desire of God, heaven, etc.; divine command, ordinance, or word.”-- Oxford English Dictionary
Seriously, this will be the last about words..LOL