The problem of terrorism is not associated with a single nation or community; it has become an international phenomenon. Several years have passed but the menace of terrorism is yet to be resolved. It is obvious that those who were presented as terrorists are in the true sense not the real ones. They were just made scapegoats by the respective states of the world. Fighting for rights and justice as well as against oppression is not terrorism. If Muslims are oppressed in Palestine, India, Myanmar, or for that matter in any other part of the world and they fight against it, will this be termed as terrorism? If the answer is in the affirmative, no community of the world will probably remain without a tag of terrorism. Why the Buddhists of Myanmar not called terrorists even though they slaughtered thousands of Muslims brutally?
It seems the world is falling prey to the international conspiracy against Muslims. It is a well-known fact that the west is bothered about the rapid growth of Islam and ailing from Islamophobia. Hence the west and fascist elements in India are promoting terrorist deeds in the guise of true jingoists. Why is Terry Jones not punished for getting a number of innocent persons killed through his mischief of burning a copy of the holy Qur’ān publicly? A series of denigrated cartoons against Muslims and Islam were published and except Muslims the entire world kept mum. Hundreds of people died, who is responsible? Who inflamed them? Who incited them? And now one scoundrel Sam Bacile along with the cold-blooded Terry Jones spewed venom against the merciful, benevolent, generous and the saviour of humanity the great Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) through casting a film ‘Innocence of Muslims’. Who inflamed the Muslim world? Who is responsible for the entire turmoil in the world? Who is responsible for the death of Christopher Stevens? Definitely, it is a matter for the west and particularly for America to ponder over it seriously and at first give severe punishment to people like Pastor Jones, Sam Bacile and others who are indulged blindly in denouncing Islam, Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) and Muslims.
These elements are the real terrorists. This is the stark truth and no one can prove it false. Can the west and media cite any example that Muslims tried to humiliate, denigrate, burn holy scriptures of any religion or attack anyone without any reasoning, even though most of the time they became victims whenever they tried to demonstrate or agitate against insulting and denouncing their religion or the great personalities of Islam?
As far as our country is concerned, the followers of Hitler and Mussolini can be found here, projecting themselves to be true patriots of the country but their anti-national activities have landed the nation in a great crisis and chaos. And the crippled and opportunist Congress government is playing a cunning role as no action has been taken against the real culprits. See the worries and agonies of those hundreds of families, whose young members were arrested under fake charges of terrorism, and those who were killed in fake encounters, as well as those who were killed in state organised genocides. In this context the veteran columnist Kuldip Nayar sketched the situation in his article in an Urdu Daily Siasat, Hyderabad, (September 16, 2012) that, ‘the majority of the nation has turned its face from secularism in which the Indian spirit has been spoilt and they should have felt it.’
No doubt, terrorism is a big problem of the world, and if the world wants to get rid of this monstrous menace, it has to discover and punish real terrorists, who are still disguised, but are not hidden from the media, respective governments and intelligence agencies.
[WAHAJ HASHMI works with the Department of Translation, Maulana Azad National Urdu University,
Hyderabad]