By Albert Thyrniang
The chilling sight of the one of the three terrorists’ shooting a policeman at point blank range in the streets of Paris on January 7 this year reinforces the extreme cruelty of Islamic terrorists who are undoubtedly the biggest threat globally. The amateur video capturing the assassination scene of the patrol cop was after the terrorists had stormed the office of Charlie Hebdo, a well know satirical weekly in the French capital after murdering the editor-in-chief Stephane “Charb” Charbonnier, Co-founder Jean “Cobu” Cabut, Deuputy chief editor Bernard Maris, Catoonist Georges Wolinski, Cartoonist Tignous and others. Altogether twelve were gunned down by the Islam-slogan shouting gunmen dressed in black from head-to-toe in the deadliest attack in post war France.
The magazine had earned the wrath of extremists for satirically publishing cartoons of prophet Mohammed. They had predicted revenge and sure enough cartoon journalists had to pay with their lives at the hands of the masked men for making fund of the holy prophet and lampooning Islam. This brazen and methodical attack on the freedom of the press is condemned by the world and also by Muslim leaders as ‘barbaric’, ‘despicable’, ‘horrific’, ‘heinous’, ‘sickening’, ‘brutal’ and ‘inhuman’ and reiterates the acute intolerance by Islamic fundamentalist and fringe elements.
Keeping with the anti-establishment tradition since the French Revolution, Charlie Hebdo ridicules not just Islam and its prophet but all faiths, religious leaders, politicians, police and bankers. Last week, the weekly with a 30,000 strong circulation, mockingly questioned the existence of Christianity’s founder, Jesus himself. Were not Christians offended? Why are only Muslims offended when their prophet is scorned? Is Islam superior to other religions? Is the prophet Mohammed more sacred than other prophets, sages and gods and goddesses? Why is it that mostly Muslims react violently to mockery by those with liberal views?
In recent years there have been numerous examples of intolerance glaringly displayed by Muslims angry at ‘attacks’ against Islam or its scripture or its prophet. In 2012 mobs ‘invaded’ US embassies in Egypt, Libya and other Northern African countries killing Christopher Stevens and three other diplomats. Large scale violence spread to the Middle East, South East Asia and Europe. The violence was in retaliation to a movie made by Sam Bacile, an American Israeli who portrayed prophet Mohammed as a philanderer besides considering ‘Islam a cancer’. Enraged after the excerpts of the film was uploaded on YouTube, mobs went on a rampage targeting Americans and American properties.
Bangadeshi author, Taslima Nasreen has to bear the brunt of fanatical violence. Clerics and Imans issued fatwa against for her dissent in her book, “Lajja” (Shame). Forced to flee her homeland, the writer, an activist for women and human rights, secularism and freedom of expression became a refugee fleeing from one country to another since 1994. Humiliatingly, she has to carry hefty sums on her head for criticising Islam. Enduringly, she has to see her works banned in several countries. Threats, intimidation and physical attacks followed her wherever she ventured out.
Salman Rushdie, the British Indian is another author who had to face ‘punishment’ from rightists for daring to pen “The Satanic Verses”. Ayotollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the supreme religious leader of Iran could not bear it and so on 14 February, 1989 he declared a fatwa against the Booker Prize winner. Death ‘warrants’ followed. Violent protests occurred in several Muslim countries. In 2011 he was forced out of the Jaipur book fair as radical Muslim groups threatened to harm him. Giving in to a tiny minority of intolerant lunatics, Indian distributors were unwilling to market the movie based on “Midnight’s Children” fearing retribution.
Islamic terror presents the biggest threat globally. They threaten the existence of billions of people across the world. For lack of space let me name five major dangerous terror groups. Islamic State (IS) or ISIS is the most dreaded. ISIL or ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant/Syria), controls vast territories in northern parts of Iraq and the Western parts of Syria/. Founded by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the Islamic State is the most funded terror organization as it controls vast oil fields. Its devilish nature is demonstrated by its acts of barbarism so brutal that even Al Qaeda had to denounce them. Beheading and chopping bodies, including women and children, to pieces are uploaded in the internet regularly. Recruited from all over the world, IS fighters also come from western countries, England being the highest contributor. ISIS poses such a threat that USA and its allies have sent troops and logistics to defeat it.
The next most dreaded group is the Al-Qaeda. This is the biggest “brand name” for all terrorist groups in the world. Established by the notorious Osama Bin Laden in 1989, this Islamic terror group organized the attack on Twin Towers in New York, popularly known as 9/11. Sheltered by the Afghan Taliban, the US hunted down the Al-Qaeda’s founder eliminating him in May 2012. Now headed by Ayman al-Zawahiri, the threat of Al-Qaeda is still serious because it networks and strategizes activities of many other terrorist groups the world over. Al-Qaeda fighters consist of thousands of motivated men who undergo rigorous military training.
The Taliban is another feared Muslim terror group. Literally meaning “students” in the Pashto dialect, Taliban even temporarily ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. Under its founder, Mullah Mohammed Omar, the Taliban took Afghanistan back to the medieval age when it imposed strict Sharia and Islamic laws in that country. Treating Osama Bin Laden as its guest, the Taliban received active support from Al-Qaeda. Though overthrown by the US-led forces, the Taliban has the capacity to destabilize the Indian sub-continent as it lends its supports to various militant groups in Pakistan.
Boko Haram too strikes fear in many a spine. This acts of terror perpetrate by this Nigerian group are well known but it got notoriety the world when it abducted more than 250 Nigerian schoolgirls. Powerful people, including well known female personalities, joined in the “Bringbackourgirls” campaign but till date the girls are still in captive. The Nigerian government, unable to tackle its socio-economic issues, provides little resistance to Boko Haram.
What is disgusting and repulsive is that the above and other fanatical groups commit heinous crimes in the name of God. They invoke Allah, Islam, prophet Mohammed , the Koran, to perpetrate barbaric acts of violence. These groups and individuals have not only caricatured but massacred the noble concept of God (Allah), Islam, the Koran, the Prophet and Jihad. Their actions and activities are anti Allah, anti Islam and anti Koran. Which God is pleased with the Paris bloodbath, with the beheading and chopping of innocents by ISIS, with the 9/11 by Al-Qaeda, with abduction 250 girls by Boka Haram and numerous other examples? Not God but the devil is smiling! How come an insult or abuse on Mohammed is unacceptable while murdering people in cold blood is justified? How is it that the prophet cannot be offended while human beings can be killed?
One of the first to the condemn the Paris manslaughter, Salman Rushdie, said that medieval religion combined with modern weaponry poses danger of the highest order (rephrased). The false and fake, the bogus and hoaxed custodians of Islam are hell bent on keeping their religion in the medieval period but use modern means to further their interests. They hide women in the hijab, keep them away from mosques, condemn them to illiteracy and deplore modern fashion but they readily acquire modern weapons, tanks and bombs. They use the social media and the internet to propagate their misplaced ideologies but they cannot tolerate users who post materials offending religious sentiments. Absolute hypocrisy!
The greatest threat from these armed groups is actually the internet. Thousands of youths are radicalized by it. The threat is more dangerous as it is silent, invisible and without boundaries. French, English, German, American, Australian, Indonesian, Malaysian, Indian nationals are taken up by the ideologies of these radical groups. They even volunteer to go to Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan to fight for them. Having become radicalised they themselves use the social media to disseminate hateful propaganda like the pro-ISIS Twitter handler, Mehdi Biswas, who was arrested in Bangaluru last month. Most of these radicalised youths are educated. This is the biggest challenge for world leaders and intelligence agencies but the challenge must be met to keep our earth safe.