Lashkar-i-Taiba, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, Jaish-e-Muhammad etc claim to represent Islam, but their role and reaction to 26 / 11 reflects their hidden agenda. Indian Muslims came out in the open and declared to the world that these so called benefactors of Indian Muslims should stop thinking on their behalf. Indian Muslims are capable to take care of themselves within the frame work of the Indian Constitution.
For Muslims in India, its time for self-introspection. There is a need to ask tough questions. No longer, Indian Muslims can choose to bury their heads in the sand and blame almost everyone, but not realising that now is the time to catch the terrorism bull by its horn.
Muslims throughout India participated in great numbers to express solidarity with the victims of the 26 /11 carnage in Mumbai and for those who laid down their lives fighting the terrorists. Anger within the community is palpable.
One thing is certain that the terrorism genie which was created by the USA in the name of Jihad to fight against the USSR occupation in Afghanistan needs to be curbed at the earliest through the quintessential teaching of our beloved prophet Muhammad (Pbuh). This terrorism genie was nurtured by General Zia ul Haque to achieve his Pakistan agenda in Kashmir. Indian Muslims are now coming in the open criticizing excesses by both Indian military as well as the so called Muj-ahideen who are sponsored by the Pakistan military.
The terrorism genie is exploited by the Pakistan Military to destabilize India for variety of reasons. Historically, to take revenge on India's action in dismembering Pakistan, giving birth to Bangladesh. Currently it wants to continue its heinous operation in Kashmir. Also Pakistan Military is desperate to engage India on the Eastern border as it wants to move out of the North West Frontier, where nearly 2000 Pakistani soldiers have died in the last few months.
So the 26 / 11 trap was laid to provoke India to mobilize forces on border with Pakistan so that Pakistan military has the pretext to shift focus away from its Northwest Frontier where it is fighting a dirty war with USA against Taliban. In the Federally Administered Tribal Areas war, 80,000 Pakistani soldiers are facing 3.5 million people.
The fact is that the Pakistan army has got a nose in the northwest and would like to exit, leaving the war to the Americans, across the Durand Line. The Pakistan government is under tremendous pressure to disengage itself fighting its own people in the northwest.
The entire 26/ 11 attack was planned to provoke India and engage it at the Indian frontier away from Afghan border as Pakistan army no longer has the stomach to fight the Pakistani Taliban and the other tribal insurgents in the Northwest Frontier, leaving it to the US forces.
It was necessary to keep India restrained so that Pakistani forces do not run east towards Indian frontiers leaving the northwest in the hands of the Pakistan Taliban. So any talk of the 26/ 11 attack being a revenge on behalf of atrocities on Indian Muslims is hogwash.
For the first time, Indian Muslims are openly blaming Pakistan for the terrorist attacks. A survey was conducted by Trend Research and Analysis Centre (TRAC), Mumbai, to gauge Muslim opinion on the role of Pakistan in the terrorist attack. Out of 219 respondents across Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Patna and Chennai, 94 % of respondents agreed to the involvement of Pakistan military and extremist organisations, when asked whether Pakistanis agencies are providing assistance to the terrorist organisations like Lashkar-i-Taiba, Jaish-e-Muhammad and others.
77 % of the respondents agree that these extremist organisations are acquiring their ideological and religious nourishment from the customized literature which has no Quranic base or no substantiation from Hadith. In the name of Islam, this literature is widely circulated to brainwash youth.
It is a documented fact that these adulterated Jihadi literature was funded and circulated by USA and western agencies to fight their dirty war in Afghanistan against the then USSR. Ironically in the process, organizations such as Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, Jamiatul Ulema Pakistan (JUP), Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, and other organizations allowed themselves to be exploited by becoming active playesr in USA sponsored Jihad for which the Indian Muslims paid a very heavy price.
Are educated Indian Muslims getting trapped by the extremist organisations in the name of Islam? Is our community aware that our youth are been trapped by lunatic organizations such Lashkar-i-Taiba, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, Jaish-e-Muhammad, etc when they are working abroad? In the name of Islam, are they being brain washed? What is the modus operandi of these organisations in trapping the Indian Muslim youth?
There are enough substantiated reports which point out that radical and extremist cadres of Lashkar-i-Taiba, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, Jaish-e-Muhammad etc hunt for Indian Muslims who are working in the Gulf countries. In the name of Ijtema (gathering to learn Islam) these innocent Muslim youth are brain washed. They are exposed to twisted and adulterated version of Islam with all kinds of sob stories of Muslim persecution in India and other places.
Lashkar-i-Taiba, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, Jaish-e-Muhammad etc claim to represent Islam, but their role and reaction to 26 / 11 reflects their hidden agenda. Indian Muslims came out in open and declared to the world that these so called benefactors of Indian Muslims should stop thinking on their behalf. Indian Muslims are capable to take care of themselves within the frame work of the Indian Constitution.
There are voices amongst the Muslims which blames such terrorist acts on the Gujarat carnage, discrimination against Muslims, Babri Masjid demolition and so on. They also quote the Sachar Commission report. But these Muslims forget that under no circumstances and conditions, should terrorist activities be justified. Islam does not permit killing of innocent people.
The revenge theory has no place in Islam. 88 % of the respondents said that these terrorist attacks in India had nothing to do with the plight of Indian Muslims. In fact, the perpetuators of this heinous act have their own hidden agenda.
What could be the straight forward, high impact community initiative to neutralize and expose the hollow faces of these so called Jihadis or Fidayeen. These Jihadis or Fidayeen claim that they are committing the terrorist acts as it is Jihad and they will get Jannah for their sacrifice. It is very simple to expose this myth. There are ample Quranic verses and authentic Hadith which will prove that their claim is false.
Islam never tolerates unprovoked aggression from its own side. Muslims are commanded in the Qur'an not to begin hostilities, embark on any act of aggression, violate the rights of others, or harm the innocent. Even hurting or destroying animals or trees is forbidden. War is waged only to defend the religious community against oppression and persecution, because the Qur'an says "let there be no hostility except to those who practice oppression" (Qur'an: 2:190-193).
The need of the hour is to take the simple message of Islam based on the Quran, authentic Hadith and Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) life, both to Muslim and non- Muslims and clear the air of suspicion, hate and terror.
(The writer can be reached at mhl@rediffmail.com)
