By Ghazala-hayat
When I first saw the destruction in Oslo, Norway on July 22nd, it was reminiscent of attacks by Al Qaeda, Taliban, and other radical groups that we've seen in different parts of the world. The news of the murder of youths was so painful that I turned off the TV. I was bracing myself for another onslaught in the media linking Islam and terrorism. Within hours it was reported that the violence was perpetrated by a blond, blue-eyed Norwegian, Anders Behring Breivik. He is a right wing radical who like other terrorists is misguided in invoking his faith as the basis for his actions. Looking at Breivik's image, I could not fathom that someone with the boyish innocence on his face could commit such heinous crimes, but then faces do not tell us about a person's intentions.
Breivik identified himself as devout Christian and has strong anti-Muslim beliefs. His manifesto of over 1500 pages is full of loathing of immigrants, and particularly Muslims. He bases most of his ideology on the thoughts and writings of right-wing Islamophobes in the West, and mainly those based in the U.S. These right-wing extremists in America are trying hard to distance themselves from the actions of Breivik. They may not have pulled the trigger but they did point fingers towards the targets. Their fear-mongering has inflamed thousands of people around the globe over the past decade. Muslims in the West are becoming increasingly worried about this virulent form of Islamophobia; there has been a marked increase in hate crimes against Muslims over last few years. Most Muslims believe that the right-wing "leaders" and bloggers are one of the main reasons for this escalating irrational fear and hatred of Muslims.
What struck me about the killings in Norway was that the majority of the Western media did not describe the violence as an act of terrorisms. The terms used for these terrible acts were actually correct, such as "Extremist", "Radical", "Suspect", "Mad Man", etc. Some journalists used the word "Christian" before these phrases. As is appropriate, most of the mainstream media did not blame Christianity for these atrocious acts. I did not come across reference to Breivik's faith being held responsible for his actions in write-ups by Muslims either. For years, Muslims have been stating that the terrorism committed by Muslims does not portray the real religion of Islam. Identifying the terrorists as "Muslim Terrorists" is tantamount to demonizing an entire faith practiced by 1.5 billion people across the globe. The radical Muslims manipulate the teachings of Islam to fit their ideology, the same way Breivik and many other misguided people have done with other faiths over the centuries. The acts of some do not define an entire faith; the tenets do. Like Christianity, Islam prohibits killings of innocent people and Muslims believe that these perpetrators will be punished in the hereafter.
Breivik has stated that he wanted to teach a "lesson". I hope the lesson that we do learn is that the great religions do not teach intolerance, hatred, and the killing of innocent human beings, and that a terrorist act does not define the faith of the executor. It is about time that we stop identifying terrorist attacks as "Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Hindu... terrorism". These are acts of terrorism committed by radicals and extremists. This will also help dispel stereotypes that people may have of other faiths.
Source: www.stltoday.com
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