I Am A Muslim And I Am Angry: Delivering A Message
15 July 2015By Tariq Al Maeena
It angers me to see how a peaceful religion has been manipulated by some to
be a tool of terror against their perceived adversaries
Ramadan is a spiritually significant month for Muslims the world over. It is
a time for inner reflection, devotion to God and self-control. It is a time
when Muslims repent, ask for forgiveness for sins and spend their time in
intense worship. Muslims think of it as a kind of tune-up for their spiritual
lives. We are to make peace with those who have wronged us, strengthen ties
with family and friends and do away with bad habits and bad feelings.
Fasting, reading the Quran, increasing charitable deeds, cleansing one's
behaviour and doing good are some of the ways Muslims use to draw themselves
closer to God. This is what true Muslims believe in and do.
On June 26, an explosion rocked a mosque in Kuwait that killed 27 and wounded
227 worshippers. Worshippers had gathered for Friday prayers at the Al Imam
Al Sadeq mosque in Kuwait City when a powerful bomb ripped through the
courtyard of the heavily-congested mosque, causing much death and damage. The
timing of the blast was significant as Friday noon prayers are generally the
most crowded of the week and attendance increases multifold during Ramadan.
Investigations later revealed that the perpetrator was a Saudi male who,
along with some Kuwaiti sympathisers, intended to stir up Sunni-Shiite
divisions with his murderous act. This bearded individual from a village in
Saudi Arabia had actually flown into Kuwait from Riyadh on the day of the
bombings and left a trail of death and destruction among the faithful. He had
stayed at a house owned by an extremist who subscribed to "extremist and
deviant ideology" and was then driven to the mosque by an illegal resident to
carry out this macabre plan.
Immediate credit
On the same day, there were terror attacks in two different continents
conducted by supposed sympathisers of the extreme doctrine followed by the
Saudi suicide bomber. In Tunisia, a gunman wandered on to a popular beach at
a seaside resort and gunned down guests with an automatic rifle. The death
count was 38, while 36 people were wounded, according to Tunisian
authorities. In France, a man with suspicious ties to violent groups blew up
a factory, injuring two people. A decapitated body and the severed head was
found nearby. Daesh (the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and the
Levant) took immediate credit for these gruesome acts.
As a consolation, it was somewhat refreshing to note that leading Islamic
institutions immediately denounced such dastardly acts. The leading Sunni
institution based in Egypt, Al Azhar, released a statement saying that "the
heinous shooting at a Tunisian coastal resort that killed 38 people, mostly
Europeans, was a violation of all religious and humanitarian norms". It also
condemned the suicide bombing at the Kuwaiti Shiite mosque and the suspected
militant attack in France. In a publicised statement, in reference to Daesh,
Al Azhar called on "the international community to defeat this terrorist
group through all available means".
Delivering a message
In Kuwait, the ruling Emir, the government, parliamentary and political
groups and clerics all said last Friday's attack on the Shiite mosque was
meant to stir up sectarian strife in the emirate. Terming the attack bluntly
as one of "black terror" a statement said that "the objectives of the
criminal act have failed. We want to deliver a message to Daesh that we are
united brothers, the Sunnis and Shiites, and they cannot divide us".
I am angry. As a Muslim, it maddens me when criminals use my religion to
screen their immoral and murderous intentions.
It infuriates me that I have to justify my religion and myself to the
non-Muslim world in the wake of such barbarity by individuals with no obvious
morals. It angers me that a terrorist like the Saudi who flew into Kuwait
tarnishes my religion and my nationality with his vicious actions.
It angers me to see how a peaceful religion has been manipulated by some to
be a tool of terror against their perceived adversaries. It angers me that
such people follow "extreme and deviant ideology" and yet call themselves
Muslims.
It angers me to know that some clerics with their hardline views continue to
promote sectarian divisions from both sides. It angers me to know that they
are still being heard.
I am not a Sunni or a Shiite or an Ahmadi or a Khawani. I am a Muslim! I am
not a Salafist or a Sufi, a Ja'afari or a Batini. I am a Muslim! I was raised
by the Islamic tenets of peace and kindness ... And by God, I am angry that
people in the name of Islam defile my religion.
Tariq A. Al Maeena is a Saudi socio-political commentator. He lives in
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
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EsinIslam.Com
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