Thursday, July 14, 2005

Linking Islam with Terrorism: What about IRA, LTTE, Hiroshima, Holocaust?

Once again the blatant use of the words like Islamic terrorism and Muslim terrorists has angered me. That people do not find it offensive, is strange.

Firstly, as a Muslim, I condemn all forms of terror and terrorism. Secondly, if misguided persons commit such acts, then their act shouldn't be linked to a religion, as we totally oppose such wanton killings and bloodshed.

Linking Islam with Terrorism, hurts Muslims. It also increased the existing fautlines within the society. Still, if some insist on using the prefix 'Muslim' or 'Islam', then  I need answers for the following queries:

1. Why the Irish Republican Army [IRA] that indulged in bombing in UK and the deadly Basque separatists in Spain never termed as Christian terrorists or Protestant/Catholic terrorists?

2. Why the LTTE that is Hindu [Tamil is their language and ethnicity] and has killed thousands of innocents including head of states in Sri Lanka besides destroying Buddhist temples never dubbed as Hindu terrorist outfit?

3. The killers of Hiroshima or Nagasaki are just not remembered as terrorists. Do we need to remind the horrors of Japan during the Second World War.

4. The massacre of thousands of Muslims in Bosnia was never termed Christian terrorism, why?

5. The murders by Jews, Buddhists, Hindus and Christian outfits are never linked to religion but only when a criminal is Muslim the entire community is associated. Why the words like Muslim terrorist and Islamic terrorism used in media.

Such irresponsible, objectionable and derogatory term is used frequently by mainstream, self-styled liberal media all over the world. This is causing divide among Muslims and the non-Muslims. And even the Muslim intelligentsia does not protest. Strange!