Sorry Manchester!
Sorry beautiful Manchester for the blast.
Sorry for the innocent lives taken by violent death.
Sorry for the grief and the drama.
Sorry for the suffering
Sorry to the whole of Britain for the trauma.
Sincere condolences to the grieved families.
Terrorism is awful
Terrorism is blind. Those who call themselves Muslims and commit such horrendous atrocities are not Muslims, in the least, because true Islam is a religion of peace and coexistence and forbids strictly killing innocent people. In this regard the Qur’an is clear:
“Whoever kills a person [unjustly]…it is as though he has killed all mankind. And whoever saves a life, it is as though he had saved all mankind.” (Qur’an, 5:32)
“And do not kill a soul that God has made sacrosanct, save lawfully.” [ al-Anaam 151]
These evil people are brainwashed into hatred of the other in his otherness. Their message of death and desolation is an ideology of anger that must cease, at once, and is in no way a religion.
United Kingdom is a country that shows a lot of respect for Islam and Muslims. It has 3,115,000 Muslims (4.8% of the UK population, 2014.) The vast majority of Muslims in the United Kingdom live in England: 2,660,116 (5.02% of the population). 76,737 Muslims live in Scotland (1.45%), 45,950 in Wales (1.50%), and 3,832 in Northern Ireland (0.21%.).In England they are found mainly in London, West Midlands and North West England. They speak a variety of languages: English, Urdu, Sylheti, Bengali, Arabic, Penjabi, Somali, Turkish, Persian, Kurdish and Gujarati and are majority Sunni, minority Shi’a and Ahmadi.
They are respected and their needs are attended to.Uk as a country has never made any fuss about dress code. Hijab female Muslims are allowed freely in schools, universities, public service and there are even hijab-wearing police women in service. The country has hundreds of mosques and Muslim educational centers.
The Palestinian trauma lingers on
Alas, Britain is also responsible for the creation of the State of Israel (Balfour Declaration in 1917) and the ensuing nakba of the Palestinians. For many Britain solved the problem of the homeless Jews and created an ongoing drama for the Palestinian people. Their land was taken away from them and instead they are parked in two open jails in the West Bank and Gaza and are waiting and waiting for a justice that never materializes.
If the Palestinian problem is solved in the rightful way, much of the anger of the Muslim world will disappear and with it the violence.
Most of the terror is spawned by al-Qaeda and ISIS and both have been created directly or indirectly by the West. Al-Qaeda was created to fight communism in Afghanistan in 1979 and once the objective was attained it was thrown into limbo. ISIS formed when the Americans graciously offered Iraq to Shiite Iran on a silver platter.
What to do to fight religious extremism?
- Purge curriculum:
The grains of peace, love, coexistence and understanding are sown in the educational system. So, an effort has to be made by all countries to purge their curricula from any element that could lead to hatred and violence.
- Reactivate interfaith dialogue:
Opt out for a dynamic dialogue of religions and culture between people of different creeds: decision makers, clergy, intellectuals, students, business people, etc. on a regular basis.
- Adopt strict political correctness:
Avoid stigmatizing, stereotyping, insulting and slurring people of other culture, races, languages and religions.
- Engage in dynamic cultural exchange:
Encourage cultures to interact more.
How to go about it?
- Organize conferences, workshops and seminars on interfaith.
- Encourage student exchange programs.
- Make other cultures and religions known nationally and internationally.
- Organize various cross-cultural activities: music, cinema, art, etc.
The digital revolution of the third millennium has broken barriers, so many of them, now humans have to build bridges in order to erect a true global village that will bring people together irrespective of their color, creed or culture.
To understand why Muslims are angry with the Western World read this: Why Are the Muslims Angry with the Western World?
You can follow Professor Chtatou on Twitter: @Ayurinu
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent any institution or entity.
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