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Islamist Terrorism: Shouldn't We Ask Some Questions?
For the sake of all of us, I think it is time that Muslim leaders and communities stopped whining about persecution and gave up finding excuses for why their young men prefer to kill themselves and others instead of fighting for better lives. A good starting point would be to answer some very simple questions, not at global, international political levels, but at the level of parents and community leaders of Muslim communities around the world:1. How about taking responsibility for what your young men and women do? Not only when they blow themselves and others up, but also when they refuse to work, or to go to any school except madrassas where they learn no skill but to recite the Koran, and thus willingly, even knowingly, isolate and alienate themselves. 2. How about expecting your children to become a Shahrukh Khan, APJ Abdul Kalam or Azim Premji? Or a poet like Mourid Barghouti? None of them were born to privilege and yet grew to become true heroes in vastly different fields. Doesnât the responsibility of teaching children to dream lie with the parents? 3. More importantly, what about teaching the young that to struggle to better oneself and oneâs own lot is truly the âgreater jihad,â far more difficult but definitely higher than blowing oneself up? That true change requires unstinting hard work and doesnât come easy, but that it is possible. 4. And finally, how about pointing out to these silly young men that blowing oneself up in the London metro or a Kashmiri marketplace or an Iraqi mosque is the act of a coward. And no God allows a space for a coward in heaven! Perhaps this is the infidelâs way, of taking responsibility for oneself instead of continually complaining of being victims. If that is so, there is much to learn from it. Posted by: john 2005-08-20 |
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