It was with
outrage and great sadness that we all watched the recent terrorist acts
unfolding in France. For many they remain an immensely emotionally charged set
of events that brought havoc into the lives of their modern civilisation.
However, any terrorist act, committed by someone who claims to belong to a
Muslim community becomes more than an act of terrorism to me, and to the many
who believe in the sublime purpose of the teachings of Allah, the Almighty, the
one who is Most Compassionate and Most Merciful.
Any actions,
whatever their intent, such as those recently witnessed, when they injure and kill innocent people, destroy
public infrastructure and introduce havoc into the lives of a people, become
mindless and meaningless. When such acts are committed by a Muslim it always
reflects adversely on the most sublime teachings of their religion, and no
amount of reasoning can ever justify such abhorrent acts of terrorism. Any
attempt to do so can only be regarded as an attempt to distort the teachings of
Allah and the gravest of sins.
Furthermore,
this type of horrendous act inflicts considerable harm on the Muslim
community. What possible explanation can
we offer to our children, our community, and indeed the whole world, for the
pain and anguish resulting from these murderous events?
The Prophet
Mohammad, Peace and Mercy of Allah be upon him, was abused by his opponents in
the past, and was accused of being possessed by jinns. He was called a sorcerer
who charms people’s minds, and was labelled as an eloquent poet who could write
the best poetry ever, to surpass all the best poets of past and present time.
He was even called as ‘majnoon’ (someone who was affected mentally) for going
against the ‘norms’ of that society. All this is well documented in the Quran
and in the books of ‘Seerah’, the biography of the Prophet.
He was even
poisoned on one occasion, and magicians were asked to cast their magic on him
so that he could become disabled and stop preaching Islam. Public humiliation,
wars, personal attacks, social and economic boycotts and everything else was
used in the attempts to silence him. But he said: 'if they could place the sun
in his right hand and the moon in his left hand, he would not cease preaching
until either he was successful or he lost his life in the cause'.
In preaching
its message of peace, Islam has never resorted to terror or acts of murder, and
does not need to do so now. Any scenario,
such as that in France, which includes acts of violence, reflects adversely on
Islam and its teachings, and results in further violence to Muslims.
It is a great
mistake for any Muslim, when attempting to resolve grievances of a political
nature, to take up arms in the name of their religion, and to mistreat the
Quranic guidance by misinterpreting it to suit a specific agenda.
The many
extremist groups who are so deluded that they seek to either destroy
governments and peoples by acts of terrorism, or to establish a caliphate on
the back of senseless violence, cruelty and murderous acts, succeed only in the
destruction of the fabric of Muslim society and Muslim communities. All those
who support this misconstrued sense of Jihad are only contributing towards the
rapidly emerging, and false image, of a violent Islam, which unfortunately, in
the minds of many in this so called modern world, should be destroyed.
Islam contains
far superior and eloquent intellectual arguments to deal with any kind of
political, economical, social or human issues. The problems do not lie with
others. The problems lie with us. Far from expending their energy on making the
lives of many Muslims better, most of these organisations, and their sponsors,
continue to wreck whatever meagre quality of life Muslims have. Raising
awareness, in particular when communications are so readily available, and
educating the masses and indeed lobbying the world community about their
grievances, has never been so easy.
But many
still prefer to embrace a nostalgic
misunderstanding of Jihad, and lacking
any sense of political strategy, and
having no consideration for the
Muslim community or indeed their religion Islam, regard themselves, falsely, as
defenders of the Muslim faith.
Muslim youth,
and indeed all those who for one reason or another, try to destroy lives or
throw a punch here and there, fail to serve any cause. Yes we have issues and
they should be fairly dealt with. But violence is not the path to take in
solving these problems, for it shows that either we do not have a legitimate
case, or that we do not possess the
political strategy necessary if
we are to solve our political problems in this modern world . It also signals
that we do not have ability to highlight our issues and solicit solutions by
lobbying and pressurising world bodies. Diplomacy is not our greatest attribute
and we urgently need to learn how to prioritise our issues and grievances and
then communicate them forcefully to all those who could, would or should help
us.
Al-Qaedah,
Boko Haram or IS and all other similar minded groups should take stock of what
they are doing and the damage they have
and continue to inflict upon innocent
people, both Muslims and non-Muslims, and to think about what, apart from Nihilism, they
achieved? What is the purpose of their reckless murderous actions that has had
a devastating effect on the image of Islam, or the hostility they have created
in the world towards Muslims, and the divisions and disenchantment they have
brought, and continue to bring to Muslim communities all over the world? The best
and only true way to change the world is to change ourselves and the way we
approach our problems. We must continue to highlight our problems, and to
cooperate with all those bodies and countries who are interested in solving
these problems and refrain from making enemies of others. Demonstrate the
inherent goodness of Islam and its political shrewdness in conflict management,
by combating social injustice and give credence to the collective sense of
decision making on a peaceful strategic level. The alternative is that Muslim
communities and the lands of Islam will for ever in turmoil and burdened with
issues and problems without solution.
