Not in the Name of My Religion!
By Abdul-Majeed Azad
Cleveland, Ohio
Recent horrific mass killing of innocent people in Nice, France, who were out to have good time with their friends and families by a ruthless misguided operative is yet another reminder that the religion hijacked fifteen years ago on 9/11, is still in captivity by a bunch of illiterate savages who wrongly call themselves Muslims. Every true, sincere and God-fearing Muslim on this planet ought to condemn this barbarism, because there is nothing Islamic or Stately about the purportedly diabolic ideology of such individuals or the organizations they are affiliated to.
Yes, the Farooks, Maliks, Mateens and Lahouaiej-Bouhlels, perhaps did identify themselves as Muslims, but their dastardly acts were entirely alien to the tenets of the faith they had feigned to profess and practice.
These perpetrators are only what they truly are: devious mass murderers who are conflicted within themselves morally, ethically and sexually. Over the years this concealed self-contradiction becomes a disease that is more lethal than cancer: because unlike cancer which eats away body organs, this disease goes deeper and corrodes the soul. And when the being is saturated with the symptoms of self-pitying and self-loathing, it cannot be contained within the confines of blacked heart nor the contours of darkened brain. That is when the venom spills out and consumes the society around in a blinding rage that does not and cannot find mercy for an innocent child with an infectious smile, a young couple with beguiling passion or an elderly woman with a carefree toothless grin.
In fact, unbeknownst to these savages and their ruthless masters, an honestly true Muslim was Mr Peter Kassig of Indianapolis, IN, who was killed by the ISIS mercenaries in November 2015. His senseless murder had shocked the entire world, transcending all boundaries of religion, race and geography. For a while it appeared as if compassion and justice has left this planet.
So, unlike these ignoble butchers who feel immortalized under the cloak of ISIS and the vain chants of Allahu Akbar (God is Great), Peter Kassig will always remain in our hearts a true American son and a great humanitarian. He gained international recognition for his daring aid work in Syria. In his eyes, it just wasn’t fair that he grew up in a stable, loving household, while other people in the world went without food and water, and saw death on a daily basis.
His purposeful life and even his death remind us all that being Muslim is not a pre-requisite for doing something good and meaningful. We see this act of selfless kindness everyday on the street corners, train and bus stations, grocery stores, parks, slums and soup kitchens, all across the United States. It is a gift of the blessed soil, perhaps; it comes naturally to all Americans.
The willingness of the parents of Peter Kassig to accept and allow the burial of their beloved son as per Islamic traditions, spoke volume not only about the magnanimity of their own hearts but also the greatness of their faith. The perseverance, calm and dignity exhibited by his phenomenal parents even in the darkest of the moment, reminded us that sanity prevails over every calamity no matter how horrifying it is.
Muslims can learn a thing or two from the elderly Kassigs. Muslim parents can learn how to raise a model child like Peter, who had everything going for him, yet chose to follow his heart towards a far greater good for humanity, that was not only very far but also alien to him.
By the same token, myopic politicians and hate-mongers on the payroll of media moguls ought to hone the finesse of decent and civil conversation and learn the art of controlling their chronic and infectious mouth diarrhea, before they expose their stupidity on the world stage, while feigning to know Islam, Muslims and Sharia.
Edmund Burke had once said: For the evil to flourish, it is only necessary for good men to do nothing.
If the evil bears the name ISIS or ISIL or DAESH or Al-Qaeda or Al-Shabaab or Taliban, it is necessary for every Muslim man, woman and child to shriek at the top of their lungs – from the rooftop of their homes, on the streets, in the mosques and Islamic Centers – NOT IN THE NAME OF MY RELIGION!
Same is true for its cohorts – no matter what name they adopt or which country they operate in - for the simple reason that terrorism and unjustified killing have no religion.
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