Mumbai: Guilty until proven innocent
Source: http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7&sec...&m=12&y=2008&pix=opinion.jpg&category=Opinion
Mumbai: Guilty until proved innocent
Abubakar N. Kasim | kasim88*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!
It is astonishing how a crime is quickly solved when a conspirator is believed to be a Muslim. Take for instance the recent senseless act of terrorism that struck the heart of the city of Mumbai where 172 people were killed.
The media had jumped to the conclusion as to who was behind the massacre even before the authorities had to gain control of the crime scene and complete their investigation. The so-called experts on terrorism were swiftly dispatched to the TV screens to put some meaning into the meaningless act of terrorism and point the finger at the usual suspect: Islamic fundamentalism, jihadist and so on.
Ironically, these experts pretended to have the answers to the senseless crime while they were a world away from the area where the crime was taking place.
They were going wild with their speculations as if they knew of the event prior to its occurrence. CIA, FBI and other secret service agencies should give a visit to these “experts” and question them whether they had prior knowledge of the event as they seem to.
As soon as Muslims were blamed for the mass murder, Internet forums and the media in general were filled with hate against Islam and Muslims.
A message appeared on Islam-Online.net saying that the world would have been safer had there been no Muslims around. Incredibly, all this was happening while the Indian police force had yet to take control of the situation that was escalating uncontrollably. The criminals were already charged even before they were apprehended. This is a new form of justice that is applied to Muslims nowadays.
As a Muslim, I was struck by the Mumbai tragedy at two levels. I had to deal with the disaster that was befalling on fellow human beings including Muslims who were among the victims of this senseless and cold-blooded murder. I did not understand how a human being could do such a thing to his fellow humans who did not do any harm to anyone. I was also hit with this tragedy when my faith was put on trial for this act of barbarism and I was directly blamed for it.
Even if the suspects were indeed Muslims, why should I have to answer for it?
Why weren’t Christians blamed for the death and destruction that President Bush, who is a devoted Christian, has caused in the land of Iraq without any just cause? As soon as a suspect of a crime is thought to be Muslim, emotions run high in the public arena and the media play a major role in sensationalizing the issue.
Every society has insane people who commit atrocities in the name of the ideology that they believe in. The world has seen what had happened in the US in 1999 when two students opened fire in Columbine High School indiscriminately, killing 12 and injuring 23 before they took their own lives.
The world should also not forget the so-called Bath School disaster which was the name given to three bombings in Bath Township, Michigan, on May 18, 1927, which killed 45 and injured 58. The perpetrator was a school board member who went insane and took the lives of many people including children. Why wasn’t his faith even mentioned in the media let alone associating the religion with the act of terrorism?
What about the deadliest shooting rampage by a single man in the US history when Seung-Hui Cho massacred 32 and injured many others before committing suicide in what is known as Virginia Tech Massacre that happened in April last year?
The world should also never forget the case of the Canadian pig farmer who was charged with killing nearly 30 women. As reported in the Financial Post on Dec. 10, 2007 he confided to a friend that he committed the atrocities out of religious conviction and quoted the Bible to substantiate the killings.
It is utterly unfair to blame all Muslims when a few criminals take matters into their own hands and massacre the innocents. The crime is a crime and should be treated as such. To blame the entire community is itself a form of extremism that also needs to be addressed and rejected at the same time.
Only the criminal needs to be punished and not the entire faith he might belong to or the ideology that he might be influenced with.
Generalizing people is a form of madness that turns off the switch of intellect and reasoning and makes a person judge with emotion rather than with intellect.
— Abubakar N. Kasim is a freelance writer based in Toronto, Canada. He is actively involved in social justice issues and his work has been published by variety of newspapers.
Source: http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7&sec...&m=12&y=2008&pix=opinion.jpg&category=Opinion
Mumbai: Guilty until proved innocent
Abubakar N. Kasim | kasim88*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!
It is astonishing how a crime is quickly solved when a conspirator is believed to be a Muslim. Take for instance the recent senseless act of terrorism that struck the heart of the city of Mumbai where 172 people were killed.
The media had jumped to the conclusion as to who was behind the massacre even before the authorities had to gain control of the crime scene and complete their investigation. The so-called experts on terrorism were swiftly dispatched to the TV screens to put some meaning into the meaningless act of terrorism and point the finger at the usual suspect: Islamic fundamentalism, jihadist and so on.
Ironically, these experts pretended to have the answers to the senseless crime while they were a world away from the area where the crime was taking place.
They were going wild with their speculations as if they knew of the event prior to its occurrence. CIA, FBI and other secret service agencies should give a visit to these “experts” and question them whether they had prior knowledge of the event as they seem to.
As soon as Muslims were blamed for the mass murder, Internet forums and the media in general were filled with hate against Islam and Muslims.
A message appeared on Islam-Online.net saying that the world would have been safer had there been no Muslims around. Incredibly, all this was happening while the Indian police force had yet to take control of the situation that was escalating uncontrollably. The criminals were already charged even before they were apprehended. This is a new form of justice that is applied to Muslims nowadays.
As a Muslim, I was struck by the Mumbai tragedy at two levels. I had to deal with the disaster that was befalling on fellow human beings including Muslims who were among the victims of this senseless and cold-blooded murder. I did not understand how a human being could do such a thing to his fellow humans who did not do any harm to anyone. I was also hit with this tragedy when my faith was put on trial for this act of barbarism and I was directly blamed for it.
Even if the suspects were indeed Muslims, why should I have to answer for it?
Why weren’t Christians blamed for the death and destruction that President Bush, who is a devoted Christian, has caused in the land of Iraq without any just cause? As soon as a suspect of a crime is thought to be Muslim, emotions run high in the public arena and the media play a major role in sensationalizing the issue.
Every society has insane people who commit atrocities in the name of the ideology that they believe in. The world has seen what had happened in the US in 1999 when two students opened fire in Columbine High School indiscriminately, killing 12 and injuring 23 before they took their own lives.
The world should also not forget the so-called Bath School disaster which was the name given to three bombings in Bath Township, Michigan, on May 18, 1927, which killed 45 and injured 58. The perpetrator was a school board member who went insane and took the lives of many people including children. Why wasn’t his faith even mentioned in the media let alone associating the religion with the act of terrorism?
What about the deadliest shooting rampage by a single man in the US history when Seung-Hui Cho massacred 32 and injured many others before committing suicide in what is known as Virginia Tech Massacre that happened in April last year?
The world should also never forget the case of the Canadian pig farmer who was charged with killing nearly 30 women. As reported in the Financial Post on Dec. 10, 2007 he confided to a friend that he committed the atrocities out of religious conviction and quoted the Bible to substantiate the killings.
It is utterly unfair to blame all Muslims when a few criminals take matters into their own hands and massacre the innocents. The crime is a crime and should be treated as such. To blame the entire community is itself a form of extremism that also needs to be addressed and rejected at the same time.
Only the criminal needs to be punished and not the entire faith he might belong to or the ideology that he might be influenced with.
Generalizing people is a form of madness that turns off the switch of intellect and reasoning and makes a person judge with emotion rather than with intellect.
— Abubakar N. Kasim is a freelance writer based in Toronto, Canada. He is actively involved in social justice issues and his work has been published by variety of newspapers.
