Arab News: "It is pointless to defend Islam -"

[Solomon2]

When words turn into bullets

SAAD DOSARI
Published — Monday 12 January 2015

What is more evil? To commit a crime or to back it through reasoning and justifications. I would argue that the crime itself is completed once the criminal act is over, you kill someone, he is dead, you blow up a checkpoint, the damage is done, it could lead to ramifications, but the act itself is already part of history. But when you reason and theorize any crime, you are actually preparing for a next wave of violence. You are keeping the evil concept of the crime alive, breeding more brutality and barbarity.

Last week, history repeated itself, another attack, new blood spilled, more lives lost in the name of Islam. Gunmen with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades stormed the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical magazine in the heart of Paris, blindly wounding and killing whomever happened to be on their way.

After all these years of terrorism in the name of religion, it is pointless to defend Islam from the massacres committed under its banners. For anyone with the slightest awareness of history and logic would understand that religion, as a belief system, as a superior concept governing a relation between the heaven and earth, has nothing to do with all this horror and psychopathological issues. As disheartening as it is to see the name of my religion being caught up in this craziness, I do not find myself obligated to defend it or apologize on its behalf for a simple reason; criminals could use its name as much as they want, this is not the religion I believe in.

What is alarming, however, is that after so many years of fighting terrorism on many global fronts, cancerous cells like Al-Qaeda and IS are still alive, breathing and regenerating, still able to find gullible minds that believe in its gibberish. It is a battle the whole world seems to be losing. When you find people who are willingly and without the slightest hint of hesitation cheering for and justifying such crimes, then you have to realize that you are in a deeply rooted culture of violence, discrimination, and exclusion; issues that Islam has nothing to do with!

If we decide to play the blame game, the list will run long; is it history, customs, environment, culture, or a mixture of all the above that has resulted in the unforgiving reality of violence and hatred, demonizing along the way the religion of peace and forgiveness. Important as it is to know the roots of the problem, it is more critical to find solutions. First and foremost, it is necessary to curb all the channels that are promoting or justifying any act of violence. This call has nothing to do with freedom of speech; when a word turns into a bullet, the law is obligated to stop it.

It is not an endorsement of making fun of holy symbols in the name of art. Art, in abstract, is meant to put us all in front of ourselves, to show us both the beautiful and the ugly, to challenge our senses of wisdom and wretchedness, but it won’t be art unless it is produced in a respectful manner, otherwise everything we do would be called art. Of course, the term “respectful” is relevant, but it is undoubtedly related to the environment in which the art is produced. Nevertheless, agreeing or disagreeing with the produced material, showering it with blood is not an option.

For us Muslims everywhere in the world, we need to stop and revisit our culture and traditions, to go back to the pristine teachings of Islam. This religion has been sent to the world with nothing but mercy, why some of us are depriving it of its holiest message?

[h/t: Crossroads Arabia]

@TankMan