For how long can we fool
ourselves, insisting the terrorists were foreign nationals? That based on their
physical (genital) exam, they were all non-Muslims? Some disagreement
notwithstanding, most of us I hope will recognise the perpetrators of the
Peshawar massacre as Pakistanis. Their picture says it all: sitting relaxed in a
row with their guns held out, there are seven of them, all Pashtun looking, all
young and all ready to die in the name of God.
Peering through the snapshot trying to read their minds, I am not bothered by
their appearance, their beards or their turbans nor their ethnicity, culture or
nationality; instead, what bothers me is their mindset, their education (or lack
thereof), their training and maybe their religion, all of which may have
coalesced in the last three decades to transform an obedient son into a cold
blooded murderer, a caring brother into a ruthless suicide bomber and a
compassionate friend into a fierce enemy. So brutal was their action in the Army
Public School that I wonder if, inside their chests, they carry the same heart
as ours, pumping the same human blood we all share. What have we done in our
tribal areas and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa? Have we failed as a nation to nurture
compassion and promote humanity in our youth? Or is it Islam, since the jihadi
groups from Algeria to Pakistan show similar tendencies?
Whether one likes it or not, the terrorists seek inspiration through the same
religion we share with each other. We just cannot deny that simple fact. Like
them, we proclaim the greatness of the same God before waging a war, offer the
same prayers under distress and recite the same verses when we get sick. And
just like us they too consult the same Quran and hadith for guidance, follow the
same daily rituals of a Muslim and refer to the same fiqh (Islamic
jurisprudence) that we abide by, which explains the reason for their demand that
the children in Peshawar recite the shahada (testimony that God is the creator
and that Muhammad (PBUH) is His prophet) before the terrorists pumped bullets
into their heads.
The question therefore is not how similar we are but rather, how we can
dissociate ourselves from the terrorists on religious grounds. Is it even
possible? Muslims across the world have faced this dilemma since 2001, and what
a terrible job we have done in addressing the problem, let alone denouncing it.
No doubt, a large number of Muslims do not support terrorism, not as an
ideology, not as a nation and definitely not as a matter of faith. But is
carrying a personal faith against violence enough? I do not think so.
After 9/11, Muslim clerics had the foremost responsibility to decry terrorism as
a political philosophy. They had to unequivocally pronounce the perpetrators of
such attacks as non-Muslims irrespective of their personal beliefs. Like their
unanimous stand on the consumption of pork in Muslim countries, they should have
recommended that states take strict action against the miscreants, requesting
common people to stop funding suspicious organisations and forbidding ordinary
folks to sympathise with the jihadists. Islam provides them ample evidence to
proscribe radicalism. Sure, it can be twisted to it but, throughout
history, Muslim societies — from the organised insurgency of the Kharjiites to
the assassins trained by Hassan Ibne Saba –have fought against such a violent
and extreme vision. They still can do that today without compromising their
faith. They just need to take the narrative back from the jihadists and guard
its original message of peace like they would protect their own personal
property.
Nonetheless, except for a few of the ulema (scholars) who took a clear stance on
the issue, most clerics did not step up to the task. Their condemnation, if
there was any, lacked clarity, their message spewed controversy and their tone
emitted apathy as if the people who died in the suicide attack were not humans
at all. Because of their meek and contentious response, the 5.8 billion
non-Muslim population, almost 83 percent people around the world, believe that
somehow Islam condones terrorism if not openly promotes it, an allegation we
still cannot defend on religious grounds. It is an example of failure of insight
on the part of our clerics.
The ruling elite in Muslim countries should have acted as our second line of
defence. However, they manipulated the situation to gain personal objectives.
Playing double games, they supported the US stance at the table but under it
they continued to empower the rebels. What did they want to achieve through
duplicity? As always, their first goal was to extend their undemocratic rule or
stabilise it by maintaining the status quo. And their second aim: squeeze the
maximum amount of money from the richest country in the world.
Not only religious scholars or state officials, Muslim communities too got their
hands dirty by mostly staying indifferent to terrorism. Out of sheer hatred,
some of them even celebrated the attack on US soil. They did not realise that
the same sword that cuts the throat of their adversaries will one day be swiped
at their own children, which it did a few years down the road, killing 40,000 to
50,000 people in Pakistan since 2007. Blinded by our xenophobia, even then we
could not challenge the real enemy who continued to build its strength under our
very noses until December16, 2014. The question now arises if we will put up a
fight this time or let this opportunity slip out of our hands again by calling
it an Indian conspiracy.