Calling on world to uproot injustice to rout terrorism
(September 22, 2004) - No words can describe the horror and grief
generated by the deaths of more than 300 innocent children and adults
killed in the hostage crisis on Sept. 1 at a school in Beslan in southern
Russia. It is depressing and very painful. I condemn it without any
reservation. I offer my sincere condolences from myself and from the
Muslim community of the Islamic Center of Rochester to the families of the
victims who were killed or injured.
If these people committed this crime in the name of Islam, I want to make
it clear that such acts of terror, murder and cruelty are not only wrong,
but they also betray the values of the Muslim faith. No injustice done to
Muslims can ever justify the massacre of innocent people, and no act of
terror will ever serve the cause of Islam.
The Quran teaches: "The good deed and the evil deed are not alike. Repel
the evil deed with one which is better, then lo! He, between whom and thee
there was enmity, (will become) as though he was a bosom friend. But none
is granted it save those who are steadfast, and none is granted it save
the owner of great happiness."
Even in the battlefield, Prophet Muhammad asked his followers not to kill
women, old men or children. Mutilation and dishonoring human dead bodies
are strictly prohibited in Islam. He asked Muslims to protect greenery,
trees and environment. Generosity toward and forgiveness of enemies were
encouraged.
Terrorists and criminals need to be punished. At the same time we should
not forget that such acts of terror, though horrible, should make us
consider what breeds terrorists. We need to look very seriously into the
situation in Chechnya (six of the militants in the Russian incident
reportedly were Chechens) and other parts of the world where persecution
and injustices are committed.
Similarly, we need to revisit our policy in the Middle East. The issue of
Palestine and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a bleeding wound the
world community has ignored for too long.
Afghanistan became the battleground in the 1970s in the U.S. effort to
defeat the Russian "evil empire" in the words of our late President
Reagan. The northern border of Pakistan and Afghanistan became the
training camp for people to fight against Russia.
We won the war and we celebrated. We left the mujahideen in that land and
the guns in their hands without assuming any responsibility for disarming
and sending them home. If the Western powers and their Middle Eastern
allies had put their resources together to settle those people, the world
community would have been much safer.
World religions, including Islam, teach forgiveness, kindness, respect,
mercy and tolerance. The concept of the sacred or of God in religion
abhors evil.
Religious people could be extremists, but not terrorists. Terrorism is a
byproduct of political oppression and economic disparity and deprivation,
visible today in troubled regions.
Terror begets terror and violence begets violence. While the terrorists
need to be punished, punishment alone does not solve the problem.
Restoration of political rights and freedom followed by economic
reformation and restoration of fundamental rights in those parts of the
world would certainly lead to a better situation.
I call upon the world community for a swift and just resolution to the
political conflicts in all troubled regions.
I ask the civilized nations to withdraw their support of undemocratic
regimes. I believe that this will lead to a better world of peace and
freedom.
Shafiq is imam/executive director, the Islamic Center of Rochester, and
adjunct professor at Nazareth College.
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040922/OPINION02/409220311/1039/OPINION
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