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| Where are the Muslim Voices? Uzma Mazhar Abuses at the Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq have been haunting me for the last few weeks. However much I look at the photographs with horror and disgust I am also aware that it doesn’t take much nor too long for some people to become abusive in certain situations and under certain conditions - especially when society or authorities condone it - openly or by innuendo. Not only can people become abusive but they can also justify their behavior to suit their twisted mentality. Such ethically and morally corrupt people believe that the end justifies the means. (Check out the results of the Stanford Prison Experiment at: http://www.prisonexp.org, to see how people’s psyche is distorted under pressure and when in command.) These events were soon followed by the brutal and senseless murder of an American, Nicholas Berg. This cruel and inhumane act sends chills down my back. It is scary to even imagine that anyone is capable of such cruelty. What kind of a sick mind would call this justice or even revenge? It went far and beyond what is humane, disrespecting life that is sacred and to be valued. The stark truth is that such senseless actions are not only against all teachings of Islam but also inexcusable. There can be no justification or explanation for such insane actions. Nothing, absolutely nothing can make such an action palatable to anyone with any degree of conscience. It is unacceptable and blatantly shameful. Abuse is absolutely unacceptable, whatever shape or form it takes, regardless of who commits it. Retaliating with cold-blooded murder does not undo anything, nor can it further any cause except instigate more hatred and violence. Islam does not allow anyone to take it upon himself to exact justice for any crime, personal or otherwise, without going through the legal process. They are going against Islamic teachings by taking matters into their own hands. When they stoop below the actions of the people they are angry at… are they any different than them? They aren’t any different, they aren’t any better. We can’t fool ourselves into believing that this band of immoral thugs are in any way capable of protecting our honor and rights. If need be they will have no problem killing the same people that they claim to protect in the same cold manner. If you take a thief for a protector don’t be surprised when he steals from you. Such groups stoop to the lowest of low when they commit such a horrendous crime. And they have the gall to say this is in the name of Islam… how dare they defile a religion that they obviously know nothing about. Islam teaches us that one of the signs of a dead heart is that it cannot discern between right and wrong… it deludes itself into believing that everything it does is right. If in their deluded minds they think they are furthering the cause of Muslims they could not be more wrong. Muslims
who support such idiocy need to wake up and stop condoning these deranged
men who murder innocent people. They
need to study Islam and learn the ethics of war and treatment of captives.
Have you forgotten how Bin Laden turned against the people of
Afghanistan… killing, abusing and oppressing the same people that he was
supposedly defending and protecting?
Have you forgotten the injustices against the Afghani women?
Have you forgotten the atrocities of Saddam Hussein against his own
people? Are these really the
kind of heroes that Muslims need? Never
forget that someone who is capable of being so cruel and unjust against
your enemies will use the same tactics against you.
Such a person’s goal is not justice but control and power… who
they crush to get it is the least of their concerns.
Ethics and moral values are not their concern either. A couple of sayings of Prophet Muhammad come to mind. One is that ‘if people knew the extent to which they would be held accountable as leaders they would not want leadership’. The other one is that ‘the kind of leadership you will get depends on the kind of people you are’ (ie: honest, dishonest, abusive or just and compassionate). Both give insight into the perils of leadership and the role of the populace in choosing their leader. The leader and the people are interlinked, like the infinity loop they feed into each other. Leadership by nature is about power, and it doesn’t take long for power to turn one blind and abusive. Preserving self-interest at the cost of others generally backfires. Apathy and greed at the personal level will beget injustice at the national level. I don’t support the war; but even more so I can’t, won’t and will not support such an exhibition of crude violence in the name of Islam or Muslim honor. If anyone has an ounce of self-respect, honor and compassion they cannot tolerate such cruelty. Islam demands a much higher standard of ethics and moral values from its followers. How long can we keep saying that Islam does not allow such cruelty without taking any action to condemn it? The issue of prison abuse is separate from the cold-blooded murder of Nicholas Berg. Neither is excusable nor acceptable. Two wrongs don’t make a right. Granted, not all Muslims support such senseless acts of the cruel... but then where are we and what is our responsibility in all this? Our voices should be loud and clear in denouncing such un-Islamic tactics that these self-created groups choose to follow. Preventing such people from committing injustices is a duty of every Muslim. A hadith of Prophet Muhammad tells us how
to act in preventing injustice: Another hadith tells us: So where are the Muslim voices... there are some but we need a lot more. © Uzma Mazhar May 2004 UzmaM@aol.com |