Monday, 19 January 2015

The fallout from terror

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.  

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