08-06-2006, 01:27 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Muslims must isolate fundos </b>
Pioneer.com
Khwaja Ekhram, Journalist and commentator
The collaboration of local Muslims with global jihadi outfits enlarges the scope of the fight against terrorism. This poses threat not only to the country's stability and integrity, but also the innocent Muslim community ----- When Mumbai, the commercial capital of India, was targeted by Islamist jihadis on July 11, with support from Pakistan-based terror groups and ISI, the Muslim community in India was in an eye of suspicion. The image of an entire community was maligned by the act of a few misguided Muslims.
Such dastardly acts have, time and again, demolished the self-respect of millions of peace-loving Indian Muslims who have no love for the perpetrators of crime against humanity. As in recent years, the terrorists could not succeed in their designs to tear India's secular fabric, thereby driving a wedge between Hindus and Muslims.
Today, acts of terror are not confined to India and other non-Islamic countries. Even Muslim majority countries in West Asia, South Asia and South-East Asia have been targeted by jihadis. In a majority of attacks, the victims were Muslims. <!--emo&:o--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='ohmy.gif' /><!--endemo-->Â Such mindless attacks have clearly indicated that terrorists do not belong to any religion and are motivated by fundamentalist ideologies for their vested interests, as in Kashmir where the vast majority of the victims of terror acts have been Muslims.
<b>Be it the attack on the World Trade Centre, or bomb explosions in London, Madrid and Bali, or the unsuccessful attempt to attack Indian Parliament or recent terror strikes in Varanasi and Ahmedabad, the perpetrators were all found to be Muslims.</b>
These few misguided Muslims, who claim that their jihad is "true Islam", are making things difficult for not only Islam but for Muslims, as they are viewed with suspicion and the religion associated with terrorism. Those who carried out the Mumbai blasts have put the entire community in a precarious position.
The overwhelming majority of Indian Muslims are loyal and law-abiding citizens. They have not been driven into the arms of terrorist organisations. In fact, India has the most modern, peaceful and forward-looking Muslim community in the world.
As stated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, not even a single Indian Muslim has joined Al Qaeda. The Sufi ethos of Indian Islam have discouraged any kind of extremism in thought and action.
However, following the blasts, it is clear that a small number of Indian Muslims are being encouraged and sponsored by Pakistani establishment and colluding with the global jihadis in the latter's mission to weaken and destabilise India. The magnitude of the Mumbai blasts indicates that the strikes would have been impossible without local Muslim support. According to reports, there are at least 25 Muslim organisations working on Indian soil to breed alienation among Muslims and influence them to launch jihad.
<b>The collaboration of local Muslims with the global jihadi outfits enlarges the scope of the fight against terrorism</b>. This poses threat not only to the Indian State and its stability, but also the Muslim community. It is, therefore, obligatory for every Indian Muslim to defeat this nefarious design. Muslims will have to contribute at two levels, as Indian citizens as well as fellow community members, to understand the psychology and motive of terrorists and foil their nefarious designs.
The Muslim community must view the issue of terrorism seriously because its consequences in a multi-religious country like India are wide-ranging. An act of terrorism, perpetrated even by Kashmiri terrorists, adversely affects peace and communal harmony across the country. It raises question on the credibility of Indian Muslims.
<b>When the ideology of terrorism has entered Muslim homes and seminaries, and is trying to draw legitimacy from Islam, the community must play a more pro-active role in denouncing terrorism. </b>
Undoubtedly, following the serial blasts in Mumbai, there were demonstrations against terrorism by Muslims across the country. In Delhi, the activists of the Shia-Sunni Muslim Front protested against terrorism by signing with their blood. In the Kashmir Valley, the citizens condemned the terrorist activities. But Indian Muslims need to be more active in this direction.
It is the responsibility of Indian Muslims to keep strict vigil and monitor jihadi activities within their community, to prevent harassment of any ordinary Muslim. They will have to think that the perpetrators against humanity cannot be true Muslims and that they are an enemy of the community as a whole. Islam does not approve mindless killing of innocents, and those who preach jihad in the name of Islam are breaching the Islamic tenet.
To counter the extremist ideology, Indian Muslims must undertake serious and sustainable efforts to wean away the misguided youth and influence them to return to path of sanity and tolerance in order to build a strong and pluralist India.
The right-minded Muslims must educate their community members of the consequences of terrorist acts for the community and the nation as a whole.Â
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Pioneer.com
Khwaja Ekhram, Journalist and commentator
The collaboration of local Muslims with global jihadi outfits enlarges the scope of the fight against terrorism. This poses threat not only to the country's stability and integrity, but also the innocent Muslim community ----- When Mumbai, the commercial capital of India, was targeted by Islamist jihadis on July 11, with support from Pakistan-based terror groups and ISI, the Muslim community in India was in an eye of suspicion. The image of an entire community was maligned by the act of a few misguided Muslims.
Such dastardly acts have, time and again, demolished the self-respect of millions of peace-loving Indian Muslims who have no love for the perpetrators of crime against humanity. As in recent years, the terrorists could not succeed in their designs to tear India's secular fabric, thereby driving a wedge between Hindus and Muslims.
Today, acts of terror are not confined to India and other non-Islamic countries. Even Muslim majority countries in West Asia, South Asia and South-East Asia have been targeted by jihadis. In a majority of attacks, the victims were Muslims. <!--emo&:o--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='ohmy.gif' /><!--endemo-->Â Such mindless attacks have clearly indicated that terrorists do not belong to any religion and are motivated by fundamentalist ideologies for their vested interests, as in Kashmir where the vast majority of the victims of terror acts have been Muslims.
<b>Be it the attack on the World Trade Centre, or bomb explosions in London, Madrid and Bali, or the unsuccessful attempt to attack Indian Parliament or recent terror strikes in Varanasi and Ahmedabad, the perpetrators were all found to be Muslims.</b>
These few misguided Muslims, who claim that their jihad is "true Islam", are making things difficult for not only Islam but for Muslims, as they are viewed with suspicion and the religion associated with terrorism. Those who carried out the Mumbai blasts have put the entire community in a precarious position.
The overwhelming majority of Indian Muslims are loyal and law-abiding citizens. They have not been driven into the arms of terrorist organisations. In fact, India has the most modern, peaceful and forward-looking Muslim community in the world.
As stated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, not even a single Indian Muslim has joined Al Qaeda. The Sufi ethos of Indian Islam have discouraged any kind of extremism in thought and action.
However, following the blasts, it is clear that a small number of Indian Muslims are being encouraged and sponsored by Pakistani establishment and colluding with the global jihadis in the latter's mission to weaken and destabilise India. The magnitude of the Mumbai blasts indicates that the strikes would have been impossible without local Muslim support. According to reports, there are at least 25 Muslim organisations working on Indian soil to breed alienation among Muslims and influence them to launch jihad.
<b>The collaboration of local Muslims with the global jihadi outfits enlarges the scope of the fight against terrorism</b>. This poses threat not only to the Indian State and its stability, but also the Muslim community. It is, therefore, obligatory for every Indian Muslim to defeat this nefarious design. Muslims will have to contribute at two levels, as Indian citizens as well as fellow community members, to understand the psychology and motive of terrorists and foil their nefarious designs.
The Muslim community must view the issue of terrorism seriously because its consequences in a multi-religious country like India are wide-ranging. An act of terrorism, perpetrated even by Kashmiri terrorists, adversely affects peace and communal harmony across the country. It raises question on the credibility of Indian Muslims.
<b>When the ideology of terrorism has entered Muslim homes and seminaries, and is trying to draw legitimacy from Islam, the community must play a more pro-active role in denouncing terrorism. </b>
Undoubtedly, following the serial blasts in Mumbai, there were demonstrations against terrorism by Muslims across the country. In Delhi, the activists of the Shia-Sunni Muslim Front protested against terrorism by signing with their blood. In the Kashmir Valley, the citizens condemned the terrorist activities. But Indian Muslims need to be more active in this direction.
It is the responsibility of Indian Muslims to keep strict vigil and monitor jihadi activities within their community, to prevent harassment of any ordinary Muslim. They will have to think that the perpetrators against humanity cannot be true Muslims and that they are an enemy of the community as a whole. Islam does not approve mindless killing of innocents, and those who preach jihad in the name of Islam are breaching the Islamic tenet.
To counter the extremist ideology, Indian Muslims must undertake serious and sustainable efforts to wean away the misguided youth and influence them to return to path of sanity and tolerance in order to build a strong and pluralist India.
The right-minded Muslims must educate their community members of the consequences of terrorist acts for the community and the nation as a whole.Â
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