The Minds Of Mass Destruction - I

Sunday, July 13, 2003
By: Tashbih Sayyed

Personally, I do not consider "weapons of mass destruction" (WMD) to be as dangerous as the "Minds of Mass Destruction" (MMD). Because, it is the mind behind the weapon not the weapon itself that has endangered our democratic values. Humanity is threatened by this human mind which has shown, time and again, the capability of transforming any tool of mass benefit into a weapon of mass destruction. The world saw with horror this MMD when it transformed passenger aircrafts into missiles on September 11, 2001.
Therefore I find the debate of whether we can find the WMDs in Iraq or not, a mere waste of time and a ploy on the part of those who sympathize with radical Islam. For me, the need to defeat the Minds of Mass Destruction (MMD) is more urgent than the destruction of a few WMDs which can always be reproduced. That's why, I do not care if Saddam's WMDs are found or not. His removal from power is going to serve the objectives of peace much more effectively. If anyone had any doubt about this premise, they only have to watch the post Saddam developments in the Muslim world.

Starting from Pakistani President's guarded and cautious declaration that Pakistanis should debate the pros and cons of Israel's recognition to Sheikh Mohammed Syed Tantawi of Cairo's Al-Azhar university's fatwa (edict) condemning the Arab suicide bombings in Israel are the immediate results of defeating a MMD.

Knowing the ethos of the Pakistani nation, even a mere suggestion such as this, on the part of the head of an "Islamic State" is a giant leap forward. Mir Jamilur Rahman, a prominent political analyst of Pakistan, underlines the importance of Musharraf's suggestion. "The anti-recognition lobby considers it sacrilegious to recognize Israel. It quotes the Quraa'nic verse "Oh faithful, do not make friends with Jews and Christians" and argues that recognition of Israel would be tantamount to making Jews our friends." He wrote recently. Pakistan is not alone in this anti-recognition parade. Every Muslim society suffers from an anti-Semitic state of mind created carefully and with an specific agenda in mind.

By perpetuating hatred against Christian, Hindus and Jews, radical Islamists have been able to keep their crimes against true Islam undetected.

In this backdrop, to ask Pakistanis to discuss the possibilities of recognizing the state of Israel is tantamount to disturbing an hornet's nest. But the fall of the butcher of Baghdad has made it possible to challenge the validity of such a historical brainwash. Now it is possible to at least point out the manipulation of holy scriptures and Muslim history so that the Muslims can come out of their hate filled environment. General Musharraf has taken the right step by opening the subject. Being a military ruler, he should be able to use his martial authority to launch a campaign of educating the Pakistani street about Israel's true nature and benefits of accepting a people who have truly been democratic and pluralists in their social, cultural and political lives for over five thousand years. By successfully establishing a true democratic society, Israel, in the middle of dogmatic autocracies and despotic regimes, Jews have proven that they are the people who posses a state of mind that truly believes in submission to the will of God. And the Quraa'n is very specific about such people, "O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female and made you into nations and tribes that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise each other). Verily the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things) " (The Quraa'n, 49:13)

Islamists on the other hand have been demonstrating all throughout Muslim history that they are the people who only claim to believe in submitting to the will of God without really believing in it. They lie to innocent Muslims by saying that they want to establish an Islamic state. A true Islamic state that believes in universal social justice is an anathema to the Islamists. Such hypocrites cannot establish God's state on the earth. The Muslims have to learn a lot from the other children of Abraham, whether they are Jews or Christians. The Quraa'n refers to Christians as the closest friends of the Muslims in this verse: "You shall find the closest in friendship to the believers who say, 'We are Christians.' For among them are priests and monks, and they are not arrogant." (Quraa'n 5:82).

Speaking to journalists at an international conference of Islamic scholars in Putrajaya, near Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Sheikh Tantawi condemned all attacks by Arab suicide bombers. He said groups who practiced extremism and carried out suicide bombings were enemies of Islam. Islam was opposed to all forms of extremism such as violence, the occupation of someone else's land, the destruction of buildings and the killing of innocents, he said.

This included the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US where innocents were killed, Tantawi said. "These people are wrong," he was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times. "It is our responsibility as the ulama (Islamic scholars) to condemn the attacks of September 11 as a criminal act," he said. "Terrorism in all its forms should be condemned, whether it is committed against Muslims or non-Muslims."

Those who doubted that any good can come out of the war on Iraq should now see the change that has come in the tone and tenor of Islamic scholars. Sheikh Mohammed Syed Tantawi could have condemned the homicide bombers in the past years also because the verses of Quraa'n rejecting terrorism and suicide bombings were not revealed after the fall of Baghdad. They were always there. But he chose to remain silent. And now when he chooses to speak we know that it is not out of his respect for the divine message but because the fall of Baghdad has helped him see the truth.

To be continued...