When I sit down quietly, taking stock of my life, the thought that predominantly crosses my mind is to see what shouldn’t be and what did I do in life that I should do differently. The concept is also applicable on societies and nations. Symptomatic treatments are actually not treatments – it’s only plastering on seeping walls from which the plaster peels off again sooner or later. The treatment will only work if one understands and accepts the cause and, more importantly, agrees to make amends. Events across the world keep throwing proof at us. It is upon us to learn from them and amend.
Firstly, the Chilkot report now uncovers what many of us feared from much before. Seven hundred thousand Iraqis were killed as a result of adventurism by two men in power. What ray of hope in life have they left for a child who has lost either or both of his parents? A woman who has lost her husband? Old parents who have lost their young children? Anyone who has lost one or more of their loved ones, dependents and breadwinners of the family? We have not even added to this tally the loss of human life, dignity and property in Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, and Palestine at all. The greed for controlling the world and its resources and the policy of hot pursuit and pre-emptive action are the major causes of upheaval in the world that we see all around us. They can kill anyone in the world if they fear anyone. The fear of a presence of weapons of mass destruction gave them sanctions to tear down a sovereign nation even when there were none.
Since some world leaders have begun to talk of ideology that promotes terrorism and, we very well know what they are hinting at, let me clear their ignorance. The policy of pre-emptive airstrikes that they follow, are not allowed in Islam. The Quran teaches us not to begin hostilities. We’re also only supposed to fight until the aggression stops. If the hostility stops, then we are to stop. Lastly, we are taught to be peacemakers and not cause problems.
So who is promoting terrorism?
The responsibility to usher in a change for better rests on those who are in power, at whatever level they may be. In some countries, we witness blatant discrimination against one community for the wrongdoings of people claiming to be Islamic. At the same time, the people in power in those countries are rewarded with posts within the organisations and governments for the same kind of wrong doing.
- The reader is a financial analyst based in Dubai.