Islam Is Innocent; Sharon Is Not [Archives:2001/38/Focus]

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September 17 2001

COMMON SENSE
By: Hassan Al-Haifi
Horrible, disgusting and very tragic!
These are the only words that can describe the lunatic attacks on the World Trade Center, the American economic and financial citadel in New York, and the other American citadel in Washington D.C., the Pentagon. While it is not officially stated, but it seems that the inclination of the investigation is to direct the blame on so called “Islamic fundamentalists”. While it is unfortunate that any Moslem should allow himself to partake in such madness, it should be understood that it is impossible to find any fundamentals in Islam that would sanctify such a contempt for human life, especially of innocent people, of whom there is even a high probability that some are Moslems and Arabs. Not only are the attacks themselves to be condemned, but the very methods used, which one can find justified by any strategic references or precedence in Islam, or any other human struggle in the past. The only conclusion to draw from the results and the aftermath of this sadistic mayhem is that the intentions of the attacks are deliberately intended to damage the image of Islam and to serve the Zionist cause by leaps and bounds. It is no wonder that the Israelis were quick to jump and quickly point to the horrors of “Islamic terrorism” and quickly rushed their tanks and bulldozers into the West Bank and the rest of the Palestinian enclaves destroying homes and civilian property, not wasting one moment of time to take advantage of this heinous crime to encroach in as much of whatever is left of Palestine under Arab control. It seems as though they were synchronized actions.
Whatever the intended motives behind the attacks are, it is important to point out that the heinous murder of unarmed civilians is deplored in Islam and warrants serious action by civilized Moslems everywhere to counter these crazy elements in Islam, who are reared from their childhood years, in so called “Quranic schools”, which are undercover institutes that have their roots in clandestine activities, in order to become menaces to Islam, in particular, and to the world at large. Time and again, this column has pointed to the dangers these elements pose and where they come from, not to mention the very likely possibility that they are tied to the Zionist movement itself, by some clandestine strings, that have yet to be unraveled.
Since Ariel Sharon undertook his infamous walk through the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, a year ago or so, this observer and many other Arab commentators have pointed out that the world is in for some dangerous repercussions, unless the civilized world comes to grips with itself and realizes that the kind of demagoguery being preached by Ariel Sharon and the other Zionist demagogues is dangerous for the whole world and not just the Middle East. Because fanatical Moslems enjoy sensationalism to propagate their misguided representations of Islam, especially among the uncultured Islamic masses, who are susceptible and poor, not to mention the lucrative opportunities, thanks to the petrodollars that fund these movements and the other clandestine funding sources, which to prudent Moslems are really the anathema of the pure and innocent teachings of the Prophet Mohammed (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), because of all this Islam and Moslems are being accused of acts that make the stomachs of wise and knowledgeable Moslems turn and that invoke pity and sorrow for all who suffer from such mad representation of Islam. We categorically wish to make it clear that Islam is fully innocent of such horrible acts, and there is just no way that God can ever accept such acts as a form of Jihad to be awarded here and in the hereafter. In Islam, it is absolute that the ends do not justify the means, and these fundamentalists who preach or adopt such infidel philosophies, are bound to be punished for, first of all, distorting Islam, and second of all because of all the innocent lives that are needlessly and unjustifiably lost.
To date, we have yet to see where and how these remote controlled fanatics have served Islam, themselves or the rest of humanity. All their activities have evoked more controversy, within the Moslem World, than all the enemies of Islam could ever hope for.
It is worth noting that the United States had once strongly supported these movements and trained many of its people, including Osama Ben Laden, as valuable allies in the fight against Communism during the Cold War years (One wonders who lobbied for them!)
There is much that lends credence to a strong tie up between these movements and the Zionist cause, because there is a lot of similarities in their modus operandi, and because they end up serving the very same cause. Any movement that sanctifies the death of not only innocent non-Moslems, but also innocent Moslems (who may disagree with their fanatical and misguided renditions of Islam, or who just happen to be along the way, when their desires for sensationalism arises), is not only distant from Islam, but distant from humanity itself.
We urge the American people and all civilized people of the world to understand that the majority of Moslems are baffled by the heinous nature of these crimes and find them to be void of any regard to the humane teachings of Islam, which the perpetrators of these crimes are deliberately trying to misrepresent. On the other hand, I disagree with Mr. Dennis Ross who insists that the incidents would have happened anyway if American Middle East Policy was different than its blind support of Israel to date. Surely, Mr. Ross fails to understand human nature very well and is trying to cover the fact that it is misguided US policy in the Middle East that nurtures this kind of animosity, and allows fanatics to find the ground support they need to carry out their acts of terrorism. Or is it that Mr. Ross is trying to cover up for his failure to “mediate” a Mid-East peace despite the many years he had a chance to do so?
It must be borne in mind that the breed of people who carry out such acts are part of a dangerous cult that is scientifically bred to be free from any sense of logic or humanistic culture their roots, history and source of support are familiar to most enlightened Moslems. Further more they are bound to take advantage of the sensitivities in the street to carry out any extreme acts that will nurture street applause among the overwhelmingly misinformed masses.
Our sympathy goes to the families of the innocent victims of these heinous acts and to the people of New York City and the United States, and on behalf of the majority of truly faithful Moslems, who know that such actions are the anathema of Islam, which no true Moslem could ever stomach or approve of. The observer could only suspect that these acts are more conducive to Zionist motives, if not designs, to inspire the West into a new Cold War against Islam, because Israel is afraid of Islam as the only force that stands in the way of its chauvinistic scheme and staunch Zionists openly harbor contempt for Islam and Moslems, in general and Arabs in particular. But then, only Ariel Sharon knows for sure.

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