I am heartbroken. I stare at the face of a boy who could easily be my brother or son. My brother also wears the uniform of a nation that has transgressed the limitations of everything moral, just and good. My son could be targeted because a select few claiming his same religion act with wanton disregard for human life. That is the irony of being a Muslim American, at times I am not Muslim enough and at others not American enough, whatever those two things mean. This guy, this jubilant young father, the one they say everyone referred to as “Riggers” was needlessly, mercilessly and senselessly murdered.
Let me be clear and say this in the most unequivocal words possible: I as a Muslim woman do not condone, nor support, nor feel these men acted Islamically, nor humanely, nor sanely. What kind of madman hacks a person to death in the street and then stands there apologizing for the spectacle he caused, awaiting his capture? Precisely a madman and as we know madmen come in every color, creed and race, not because of any of them, but because they are mad.
In spite of that glaringly obvious FACT, here we go again with the shamtastic media circus, vultures circling the corpse of Muslim Terrorists. If two men with cleavers can be deemed terrorists, then why can’t governments that willfully deceive their citizens in order to wage for-profit wars that destroy way more lives than all “terror” events since September 11th? I am happy to see through reading commentary that a greater number of people (at least the ones who care about the news) are starting to connect the dots with the media’s biased treatment of these sensational acts and also seeing that though this man did not express his point in a civilized way, neither have their own governments in the past. It is refreshing to see logic applied and that some of our population is awakening from the anti-Islamic spell media outlets have been casting since September 11th.
Still, there is a large undercurrent that want to eradicate Islam and Muslims with genocidal words and thoughts because 1.5 billion people allegedly overtly or secretly support actions such as this latest atrocity in London. However if that were truly the case, the media could not keep up with the heinous acts that would commence. If each and every able-bodied Muslim actually wanted to wage war in their home country or abroad, that’s at least 1.5 billion victims. It hasn’t happened and it won’t happen in the future because the majority of Muslims don’t believe violence is the answer. It is a basic Islamic premise to attack only if attacked and cease the moment the attacker ceases.
Despite how many lines I write and try to appeal to logic there are still going to be people who want to isolate certain verses of the Qur’an anachronistically, accuse Muslims of deceit when they condemn these actions and claim to know what Islam means to 1.5 billion people. Like Alice I have felt more amazed and more lost every time another event takes place. I had even debated writing this piece. What good could it possibly do? And now I feel I know. I may have only my voice, but I want it on record for even just one person to hear that I am sorry not only for this soldier’s lost life, but for all of the lives lost collaterally for what the greedy, power-hungry politicians of our world have done and continue to do. Call it karma, Allah, God, Yahweh, the Universe…there will be a reckoning and we will all be held accountable for what we do. The pendulum will swing my dear friends, do not betray your humanity to try to move it yourself.
JAK & Peace,
Christen
