Insurgency at its worst [Archives:2004/782/Opinion]

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October 18 2004

Hassan Al-Haifi
Undoubtedly, any sane Moslem would condemn any acts of violence against any non-Moslems living in their midst, not so much because it is irrational, inhumane or a sign of intolerance, but because they are simply not Islamic. Therefore, any efforts to portray the recent series of bombings against Christian churches in Iraq as serving the cause of Islam or the Iraqi rebellion will find only condemnation from all true faithful Moslems, who truly understand their faith. Moreover, history shows no precedence for such heinous acts by Moslems in the past, as can be proven by the sizable Christian minorities that still exist amidst predominantly Moslem communities, with relatively little record of persecution or interference from any Moslem government or community in the right to practice their faiths of worship, as long as they remained law-abiding and showed no animosity to Moslems. Thus, most Moslems are bound to question the genuine motives behind those “insurgents” in Iraq, who claim to be protectors of the faith, but in fact have violated religious dictates by their wanton disregard of Islamic teachings that place great value in the sanctity of the lives of innocent unarmed civilians and in the tolerance that Islam teaches of other faiths existing in the midst of Moslem domains. Furthermore, they raise questions as to the legitimacy of their actions, since they do not possess any real mandate from the Iraqi people, most of whom disapprove the actions of these so called militant insurgents. In fact, one would suppose that most Iraqis would view such shameful acts as serving the interests of the enemies of Islam, since they project an untrue, but nevertheless undesirable picture of Islam and Moslems as intolerant of other faiths. Nothing is further than the truth. These insurgents are neither guided by Islamic jurisdiction or ordinances and are more likely serving the interests of non-Moslem forces that have found so called Moslems to carry out their designs for distorting the image of Islam. In this holy month of deep religious meditation and reflection of the state of the Moslem world, Moslems are urged to make it clear that the cards of these hoodlums are exposed and that the kind of violence they are perpetrating is anathema to all Islamic dictates. Even Iraqis in Falluja have expressed a disassociation with such “Moslem fanatics”, as the Western press would like to project them, and they are right in condemning the kind of tactics that these “foreigners” follow, which they say is damaging to their cause. Who are they? What are they really doing there in the first place? The Iraqis are not in need of them, since most Arabs and Moslems would agree that the Iraqis themselves are capable of organizing and running their own genuine resistance against the invaders, and most likely in a more civilized manner. In fact, many Iraqis and most observers would agree that the occupiers could not be pleased more by anything than to have an ugly (non-Islamic) portrayal of the insurgency in Iraq, so as to give the occupation some degree of legitimacy, as part of the “war on terror”.
Most observers cannot help but assume that these insurgents are encouraged by the real forces that have been behind the push for the American invasion of Iraq. The facts are proving more and more that the Zionist lobby in the United States was very active in encouraging the Bush Administration to occupy Iraq. There is also strong evidence that the Israeli intelligence organ, the Mosad is working discreetly in Iraq to create the venue that will encourage any acts that will lend credence to the soundness of the American invasion of Iraq. The idea behind this is that all these acts of barbarity would cover up for the real motive behind the uncalled for invasion of Iraq, in terms of serving the Zionist agenda and providing a buffer that secures Israel from what Israelis fear is a potential “menace” in Iran. Many observers (even Western observers) would not hesitate to suggest that there is logical reasoning to believe that there is a strong link between these mysterious fly-by-night operations, carried out by bogus gangs, that operate under Islamic names, and the energetic activities of the Mosad in Iraq. There are well over 100 Israeli companies operating in Iraq and most are owned or headed by “former” Israeli military or security officers. Moreover, for the simple reason that such militancy and disregard for the Islamic ban on the killing of innocent civilians or the violation of the houses of worship of other faiths is out of tune with the real ordinances of Islam, would clearly indicate that true Moslems could never behind such acts.
This observer undoubtedly sees the legitimate right of the Iraqis to regain their independence and sees this as well within the Islamic right of self-determination. This is something that all Moslems should support and strive for, as it is a religious duty of Moslems to back any of their brethren, who are subjected to an unjust occupation. But it is also important for Moslems throughout the world to assert that any acts perpetrated towards this objective should never violate Islamic dictates on the sanctity of civilian life (especially of innocent Iraqis, who are supposed to be the beneficiaries of any efforts at liberating Iraq). Moreover, Moslems throughout the world should maintain that such acts as violating the houses of worship of other faiths existing in Moslem countries is a serious violation of Islamic principles and does not reflect the true Islamic character of tolerance and “dialogue” that the Quran compels Moslems to engage in with those of other faiths: “there is no compulsion in religion” No religion has allowed men to freely chose their own worship better than Islam. It was the tolerance taught by Islam and practiced by all Islamic scultures over the ages under various regimes throughout the Moslem world that has made Islam probably the only religion that gained its converts peacefully rather than through compulsion or violence. So, how could the bombings of Christian churches be logically associated with Islamic teachings or viewed as sound acts of truly believing Moslems? May God cleanse the Moslem world from these dangerous elements of a fifth column that has been implanted among Moslems. Isn't it enough that these hoodlums have clearly shown that they are a menace to Islam and are actually serving the interests of the enemies of Islam?
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