A torturous spate of terrorism
that continues unabated for last many years has brought Muslim Umma in general
and Pakistan in particular into disrepute. There is no gainsaying the fact that
the Muslims on the whole oppose and condemn terrorism in unequivocal terms and
are not ready to accept it even as remotely related to Islam in any manner.
However, a negligible minority amongst them seems to give it a tacit support.
Instead of openly opposing and condemning terrorism, these people confuse the
entire subject by resorting to misleading and perplexing discussions. Injustice
being currently meted out to the Muslims in certain matters, double standards
displayed by bigger powers and their open-ended and long-term military
engagements in a number of countries, under the pretext of eliminating terror,
form some of the fundamental local, national and international causes that
underpin terrorism, and add a punch to the war cry of militants.
Similarly, the terrorists' recourse to violence, indiscriminate massacre of
humanity, suicide bombings against innocent and peaceful people, and bomb blasts
on Mosques, shrines, educational institutions, Bazaars, governmental buildings,
trade centres, markets, security installations, and other public places, which
are heinous, anti-human and barbarous steps in their very essence, have become a
routine affair. These people their actions of human destruction and mass
killing of hundreds of innocent people in the name of Jihad and thus distort,
deform and confuse the entire Islamic concept of Jihad (holy struggle against
evil). This situation is causing Muslims in general and the Muslim youth in
particular to fall prey to doubts and reservations besides muddling their minds
in respect of Jihad because those perpetrating these atrocities are from amongst
Muslims. They practice Islamic rituals, perform acts of worship and wear
appearance delineated in Sharia. This has put not only the common Muslims but a
dominating majority of religious scholars and intellectuals too into a paradox,
bewildered to know truly the exact and precise Islamic injunctions about the way
of workings, methods and measures these individuals and groups have adopted to
cause the havoc.