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| When you kill in the name of my religion | | | Joginder Singh
The Islamic State's murderous ways and the reign of terror that it has unleashed across the world have, once again, put millions of Muslims around the world in an uncomfortable, if not dangerous, position
The terrorist attacks on November 13 in Paris have have been described by President François Hollande as an "act of war" organised by the Islamic State terror group. Shootings and bomb blasts left 129 people dead and hundreds wounded, with many more injured. More than 150 raids have been done across the country, as the search by French Police for suspects, continues.
Raids have also taken place in the Belgian city of Brussels. For France, the war against Islamists isn't new. In 1985 and 1986, bombs went off at iconic locations, like the Champs Elysées, and upmarket department stores, including the famous Galeries Lafayette. French intelligence eventually tracked down the perpetrator the Iran-linked Fouad Ali Saleh group.
In the years after 9/11, France launched a fresh assault on Islamist networks. Zacharias Moussaoui, the so-called '20th 9/11 hijacker', was traced by French intelligence and eventually convicted in the United States.
Regrettably, terrorism is spreading all over the world, though it has existed in different forms for ages. For example, subjugating other countries to expand ones empire is also a form of terrorism. It is an indelible truth that those who live by the gun, will die by the gun.
Europe has changed its policy towards accommodating the victims of the Islamic State. Hungary has sealed its border with Serbia. The Polish Government has said it will reject the EU's migrant quotas. Germany, in effect, has exited the Schengen travel area. Some other EU countries say they have run out of capacity to take more migrants. Europe seems to have split into the 'compassionate west' and 'selfish east'. That, at least, is the overriding media narrative in the West.
There are no welcome banners for Syrian refugees The European Commission's proposal for a centrally-agreed share of refugees among all EU states is running into strong resistance in Warsaw and Prague. The idea of sheltering refugees via compulsory quotas is proving particularly contentious.
Germany's decision to issue a broad welcome to the refugees is being seen in central and eastern Europe as counter-productive and escalating the situation. It seems that Berlin's invitation to refugees is almost a non-starter.
Even Japan, a well-off country, says it must look after its own before allowing in Syrian refugee Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan has rejected criticism of a policy that has seen only 11 people being given asylum in the past year. Japan must improve the living standards of its own people before it can consider accepting Syrian refugees, according to Mr Abe.
The Islamic State has already claimed responsibility for the Paris attack, thus doing a great disservice to the otherwise fine Muslin community. When we, as individuals or as a group, choose an action, we also choose the consequences of that action. When you desire a consequence you should also take the action that will lead to it it. Jihadi terror attacks tarnish the entire Muslim community. Another small country, Mali, is also being victimised by terrorists.
The response of the world is worth quoting. The UN Security Council has unanimously approved a French-sponsored resolution, on November 20, calling on all nations to redouble and coordinate action to prevent further attacks by Islamic State terrorists and other extremist groups. The resolution says that the Islamic State "constitutes a global and unprecedented threat to international peace and security" and expresses the Council's determination "to combat by all means this unprecedented threat".
The US Congress is also pursuing legislative action to halt the Obama Administration's Syrian refugee programme. This comes as a response to about half the country's State Governors, mostly Republicans, who have said that they don't want to take in refugees. The Governors fear another Paris-style attack as Islamic State fighters may get access to the United States by pretending to be refugees.
President Obama has said that the United States needs to "step up and do its part" in admitting Syrian refugees. He has also said that the issue of refugees and terrorism should not be equated in the aftermath of the Paris attacks. But few agree with him. Presidential frontrunner from the Republican Party Donald Trump invoked the idea of special IDs for Muslims and shutting down troublesome mosques.
Some Muslims say they understand that the latest killing spree claimed by the Islamic State group has made has made many wary of their Muslim neighbours. Muslims living in Britain have suffered more than 100 racial attacks since the Paris incident. A report to the Government's working group on anti-Muslim hatred, seen by The Independent, shows a spike in Islamophobic crimes by more than 300 per cent in the week following the Paris attack. Most victims of hate crimes in the UK were Muslim females, aged from 14 years to 45 years and dressed in traditional Islamic attire. The perpetrators were mainly white males between 15 to 35 years of age.
Some Muslims also feel the additional burden of having to justify and defend themselves and their community, and point out that their Islam bears no relation to that of the violent zealots. They worry that some non-Muslims can't see the difference between them and Islamic State killers.
Many Indian Muslims have been caught in foreign shores and deported home, from countries like Turkey, the US and the UAE, for either supporting or participating in terrorist activities. A disproportionately large number of these cases are from Jammu & Kashmir. Of course, a large number of Muslims have nothing to do with such activities. But they, like other Indians, have taken the approach of letting sleeping dogs lie. Their approach is exactly like our political leaders they condemn such activities and then forget about it. |
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