Editor,
Apropos Gertrude Lamare’s,” Veiled Islamophobia- A Response” ( ST Jan 14, 2015) in response to my article, “Islamic terror – the biggest threat globally” (ST Jan 10, 2015), probably this supplement would suffice. First the record must be set straight. By “Islamic terror” I mean terrorist groups emanating from Islam or those who claim to represent and fight for the cause of Islam. I never for once equate “Islamic terror” with Islam as a religion. My article was not a ‘racist rant’ against the “Muslim community.” If it was so it was against the “Islamic terrorists” who have not only ‘caricatured but massacred the noble concept of Allah, Islam, the Koran and Jihad’. What these groups do is not simply Islam. There is no question of being racist as these groups do not belong to one race.
Lamare may find fault with my article for not mentioning other extremist groups in other religions. In the article only four most notorious groups were cited. There are hundreds of them. Hence it is not being selective. The ‘one sided examples’ were to emphasize that there are no religious fundamentalist groups which pose equal threats to our world as the ISIS,Boko Haram, Taliban or Al-Qaeda. Objectively and dispassionately speaking, there are no counterparts to the above groups. Of course there are goons and hooligans in other religions but they do not represent terror in the manner that the above groups do. In history there were instances of cruelty and extreme intolerance in Christianity and other religions but my article dealt only with the present or the recent past.
As for other details we can agree or disagree. Two examples. One, whether America’s war in Afghanistan, Iraq or Libya or Israel’s aggression against Palestine may or may not be considered as other form or terrorism. Two, it is for Muslim women to say whether all of them wear the hijab willingly or not. Will women in Saudi Arabia or other orthodox countries be free to say that they are compelled to wear the hijab? Recently, a lady blogger was sentenced for saying something anti-Islam. Not this writer but prominent Muslim author, intellectuals and activists (including women) see the hijab and burkha as oppressive and discriminating against women. In the wake of France banning the burkha, I have read the writers who view it as a discrimination against the fairer sex. Many Muslim women panelists in BBC or CNN or even Aljazeera said exactly the same thing. That there is no difference in ‘hiding behind the hijab and jainsems’ is also highly debatable.
There was no indication of ‘Islamophobia’ in the essay that Lamare responded to. But there might be an “Islamic terror phobia”. Imagine people who live within the reach of ISIS or Boko Haram. Do they not live in fear? Are other faiths who are defenseless or opposed to their ideologies not terrified? Not just non-Muslims but the existence of Muslims is threatened? The ISIS wants to establish a ‘Sunni State’ not an Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Those who are opposed to it are brutally dealt with. Shias are fighting the ISIS in these countries. Just the other day, Boko Haram killed at least two thousand people. Two towns were almost entirely wiped out. Dead bodies lay piled up for five kilometers. We too are not immune. We live in a global village – in the age of social media and internet. A person from a volatile location told me that an ISIS or Boko or Taliban or Al-Qaeda sympathizer or follower could be the person next door. He/she could be radicalized by these groups propaganda through the internet. They could carry out bomb blasts or shoot-outs!
It may be politically correct to say that a terrorist is a terrorist. A terrorist has no religion. But the fact remains that most of the terrorist groups, including the most notorious, are from Islam. After the ‘Charlie Hebdo’ attack more and more are calling a spade a spade. There are other threats no doubt, but I stand my ground in saying that “Islamic terror” is the biggest threat to our world today.
Yours etc.,
Albert Thyrniang,
Via email
Give parents a break!
Editor,
As a concerned parent,I would like to express my bitter experience of passing through the Upland Road when St Margaret’s School is in session. On several
occasions pedestrians have to squeeze in between vehicles parked on one side of this road. It seems that this road belongs to the affluent only. But who cares
for kids with heavy school bags whose parents cannot accompany them? Another problem is that parents have to stand in the middle of the road waiting
for their kids. Therefore I earnestly request the authorities of St. Margaret’s School to allow parents to wait inside their premises and I also request the Traffic
Police to include this road within their jurisdiction so as to bring positive change in 2015.
Yours etc.,
Malika Dohling
Shillong-3