Greetings all .... It happened again didnt it? There I was naively thinking that perhaps not this time, surely not, that maybe a splinter IRA group unhappy with the peace committed the recent atrocities in London. But what do you know? CCTV pictures and evidence collected on site seem to indicate that four British Muslim youths of Pakistani descent carried out the act in a suicide pact. As usual Muslim terrorism takes the blame for acts of violence in the civilized world. New York, Bali, Madrid, London, .....? Well, whenever someone questioned us about this our standard answer would always be that these acts may be committed by people who call themselves Muslims, but they violate essential Islamic principles. The Qur'an prohibits aggressive warfare, permits war only in self-defence and insists that the true Islamic values are peace, reconciliation and forgiveness. It also states firmly that there must be no coercion in religious matters, and for centuries Islam had a much better record of religious tolerance than Christianity.
Okay, so why would 4 young lads from respectable and relatively well off families with all the civil liberties afforded be willing to die and kill many innocents in the process? Why do 4 apparently rational human beings with their entire life ahead of them suddenly want to become martyrs? In the name of religion? But surely not my religion, not the way I know it. The very word Islam is derived from the arabic triliteral root SLM which means peace or submission. However those attributes seemed to be alien to the psyche of the bombers who certainly felt no peace or compassion for their victims. What is more important, however, is how each one of us really feels deep down in our hearts. Do we sympathize with the attackers or do we grieve for the families of those who were lost? It would be prudent to think back and remember our initial reactions upon hearing the news. Did we say Dear God! Those poor victims or say Eat that ! You deserved it (Rasain). Does your response shock you? Surely we have to admit that one time or another we had expressed the second alternative. Unfortunately, this is the tragedy with Muslim world in general, that many of us privately laud such attacks and fail to denounce them in the strictest terms. As someone puts it, Wheres the Outrage? Why dont Muslim leaders come out and condemn the attacks vehemently? Why cant they say in no uncertain terms that attacks against innocents are totally intolerable and unacceptable and against the tenets of Islam? So far I have not seen much condemnation in the Muslim countries. Although there is a gap in my religious education I know that in Islam, it is said that if one recites the Shahadah before dying, he would go straight to Paradise. But does that also extend to those who die with the intent of ending innocent life of others indiscriminately? Our belief would seem to indicate so. But what kind of logic is that? The bombers get to go to heaven in the afterlife whilst making lives of ordinary people miserable in the present (besides making orphans of children). This is exactly the question which has not been addressed adequately by all us. Suicide attacks, is it valid or not in Islam? If not, why do such attacks continue? Why do we let it continue? My greater fear however is that if such attacks continue, sooner or later we would reach a tipping point beyond which the accumulated fury would necessitate the undertaking of drastic actions by major powers. Islam is already being ridiculed and derided in the forums and boards in the internet for its apparent link with terrorism. Should further attacks occur, a time may come to pass when non-Muslim world feels utter revulsion towards Islam, causing it to say Enough is enough, for the sake of civilization and humanity, Islam delenda est ! Are we prepared to face that day ???? Perhaps it is time we took Islam back from those who would take it away from us .... Regards, V. Lee __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com _________________________________________________________________________ Mhs/Masy. indoindia diharapkan untuk selalu melihat diskusi harian di http://dear.to/ppi dan situs resmi PPI http://www.ppi-india.org ========================================================================== Catatan penting: 1- Harap tdk. memposting berita, kecuali yg berkenaan dg masyarakat/mahasiswa/alumni India 2- Arsip milis: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppi-india ; 3- HP Ketua PPI (Jusman): 09810646659 ; Sekjen PPI(Mukhlis): 09897407326 4- KBRI Delhi(11)26110693;26118642; 26118647 5- KJRI Mumbai (022)3868678;3800940;3891255 Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppi-india/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
