|
Jihad
against Insanity
By YesPakistan.com Staff
Just before 9 a.m., they were singing hymns at the end of a typical
Sunday service. By 9 p.m. they were burying their dead and tending their wounded.
The brutal attack on a Pakistani church in Bhawalpur, which killed 17 innocent
worshippers gathered for their Sunday mass, is a despicable act of terrorism
that cannot be justified by any cause.
Christian form a small minority
in Pakistan not more than 1% of Pakistan's 135 million people. It consists of
either foreign missionaries or the poorest of the poor in Pakistan who at one
time were Hindu untouchable castes seeking refuge in Christian Churches who
work with them in helping their socio-economic status as well.
"Pakistan and Afghanistan
- graveyard of Christians" and "This is just a start." --- were
the slogans of these snipers as they sprayed the congregation with gunfire for
five minutes.
If the killers are indeed
acting on behalf of Muslims and Islam, they certainly have lost their membership
in the community of the followers of Prophet Muhammad. They seems to have no
faith in Allah who clearly declares in the Quran that killing one human being
is like killing the whole humanity. No cause can justify killing of innocent.
If they are taking revenge of American bombing on Afghanistan, then they are
doing exactly what they are accusing America off.
Pakistan government and its people must take action in protecting its minorities,
their properties, and the places of worship.
Throughout the Islamic history believers in all faiths lived in harmony and
were free not only to worship in their churches, synagogues, or temples, but
in many places they were even allowed to have their own judiciary system. It
is interesting to read Will Durant's description of Muslims in his book The
Age of Faith (pp. 341-42):
"For five centuries,
from 700 to 1200, Islam led the world in power, order, and extent of government,
in refinement of manners, in standards of living, in humane legislation and
religious toleration, in literature, scholarship, science, medicine, and philosophy.
The Moslems seem to have been better gentlemen than their Christian peers;
they kept their word more frequently, showed more mercy to the defeated, and
were seldom guilty of brutality."
The life and sayings of
the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and of his companions are witnesses
to this portrayal. It would be worthwhile to note a few here:
- Even during the state
of actual war, the Prophet (peace be upon him) gave very definite instructions
on protecting the rights and lives of the innocent. Buradah (R) said: "Whenever
the Prophet of Allah briefed one of his army commanders, he reminded him to
fear Allah in his actions, .. Fight and do not exceed your limits, do not
transgress and do not kill a child." (Muslim, Abu Dawood and At-Tirmidhi)
- Umar (R) said: "During
one of the Prophet's battles, I found a woman that had been killed. In response
to this the Prophet prohibited the killing of women and children during war."
(Bukhari, Muslim and others)
- Similarly, Abu Bakr (R),
the first Khalifa of Muslims, commanded Usama (R) with the following words
of warning, before sending him off on a military expedition: "Do not
deceive, do not dishonour a treaty, do not mutilate the dead; nor should you
kill a child, an old man or a woman. Do not destroy palm trees nor burn them,
neither are you to cut a fruitful tree, do not kill a lamb, a cow or a camel
except for purposes of food. You will come across a people who have devoted
themselves to the monasteries; leave them, and what they do."
After analysing such stern
warnings given by the Prophet (peace be upon him) and Khalifas in the battle
field, what room is there left for anyone to justify the massacre of innocent
worshippers at a Church, in the name of Islam?! This is not Islam. This
is some people using or abusing Islam when they fail to deal with their anger.
It is terrorism in the purest form when you attack non-combatant civilian citizens
of your country. They are criminals in the eyes of Allah and in the eyes of
Pakistan's law.
At local level, the religious
leaders and Imams of Bhawalpur and all over Pakistan must begin to encourage
their followers to be tolerant and hospitable towards their Christian neighbours,
and to offer their condolences to the families of these innocent victims. In
addition, now there is a desperate need, more than ever before, for the government
to track down these 'unidentified' masked gunmen who have a history of indiscriminately
opening fires at religious leaders across Pakistan, since its inception.
Masjid leadership must extend
any form of help they can to their Christian neighbours and Churches.
It is time for Jihad against
insanity, wherever it may be found.
Date/Time Last Modified: 6/17/2002 3:36:56 PM
© 2004, Human Development
Foundation. All rights reserved.
1350 Remington Road, Suite W, Schaumburg, Il. 60173
Toll Free: (800) 705-1310 | Email: info@yespakistan.com
| Privacy Policy
|
