Geopolitical Analysis

Written to Asia Times, by K.N. Pandita:

NEW DELHI – Dear Sir, This is with reference to ‘Beyond Muslim condemnation of terrorism’ by Louay Safi (AT 5 August 2005). Some Muslim organizations have reacted against the brutality of London bombing. But that is not enough. It is the

duty of those Muslims who believe that Islam is a religion of peace and that they do not approve suicidal attacks, that they draw a serious and long term plan of confronting the extremists among themselves. They have full information who the extremists are, wherefrom they get support, what are their links and how they fulfil their mission. As such they are far better equipped to counter them. In doing so they can if they can, if they need, approach the police and security forces for assistance on the ground. But against volunteering themselves for this task, they bring in various reasons, mostly untenable like alleged alienation, economic depression, marginalisation etc. to subtly justify terrorist acts. It will be noted that nearly a hundred thousand Muslims came out on the streets to rejoice the “martyrdom” of the London suicide bomber of Pakistani origin in his native village in Pakistan. The government made no effort to disallow the demonstration in support of the bomber. Likewise, the death sentence pronounced by the Indian Supermen Court in the case of terrorist attack on Indian parliament has evoked large scale demonstrations against the verdict in the Muslim dominated valley of Kashmir besides a call for general strike on August 8 given by the Muslim separatist group APHC. True believers in Islam owe a responsibility of protecting innocent human beings (Muslims and non-Muslims) from becoming a target of the guns of their co-religionist terrorists.