By: Ali Ege, Toronto, May 27,2017
Somalilandsun-Whenever a massacre of shocking proportions occurs, I always pinch myself and ask whether the people who have carried out the misdeed are truly human, or sane, or made up of the same blood and flesh as myself. I shake my head in wonder, knowing not what to say. I look around and see scores of people walking, moving in vehicles and simply going about their business. Who in the wildest dreams would contemplate to do harm to any of these. Who are they to be categorized as some ones’ enemies to want them dead so strongly and for what? In the neighborhood that I reside in, there is not a soul that treats me and even looks at me in an undesirable malevolent manner. The voices I hear through my interactions at the shopping mall, coffee shops or eateries are: thank you, excuse me and sorry and the like- gentle smiles and well wishes. How can one harbor animosity and hatred for people of such attitude.
Whoever did the murders at Manchester is not of the human stock. Such a person is basically estranged and inhuman. No religion justifies such heinous criminal act and its contemptible nature. No sane human would go to such odious low.
Well, I continue to ask myself even further questions: what if someone killed the loved ones of the said person (if we can call him one) and struck them in a location somewhere in Syria, Iraqor Libya(as the case here is) by the bomb dropped from a plane(could have been Saudi Arabia’s or Jordan’s) or a shell fired by a certain adversary (could have been responsible; a Syrian government force artillery shell) in the conflict. The said person would be angry, of course, but at whom? It is widely known that revenge seekers are not a noticeable component of terrorists carrying out attacks. Most are brainwashed young men or women for whom the murderous criminal act has been glorified at the mosque or special places of worship where dubious irreligious thoughts are inculcated into their minds through coercion and fear. Even if such a person is on a vengeful path, what would the logical thing be for such a person to do? Such a person would have to look at the circumstances at which his close ones happen to have been in and attempt to understand who would be the immediate cause of the predicament causing the fatal incident. Instead of creating some nebulous inimical link with party goers in England (whose fellow cousins may be part of) or elsewhere and planning to murder them and by doing so thinking of becoming a martyr, such a person can be better off if he forgave and sought solace in Allah’s company. Resorting to violence to avenge violence is sacriligious in its totality.
