Author: Editorial
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: October 8, 2008
A dark interpretation of Islam fuels jihad
If there is any one detail about the alleged
terrorists arrested by Mumbai Police on Monday which stands out for flying
in the face of the reasons touted by loud-mouthed 'human rights' activists
like Teesta Setalvad as to why young Muslims take to jihadi violence -- denial,
deprivation and discrimination in Hindu majority India -- it is the fact that
they are well-educated, employed in well-paying jobs and belong to well-off
families. This is best exemplified by Mohammed Mansoor Asgar Peerbhoy. He
is a highly rated software engineer, he was working for the global Internet
firm Yahoo! (till Monday), he took home a substantial salary of Rs 19 lakh
a year, one of his brothers is a chest specialist in Britain and another is
an architect, his family is more than affluent. Obviously, he had a lot going
for himself and yet chose to throw it all away because deep within he is a
fanatic who believes that Islam's cause is best served by killing innocent
people.
That he should have told the police about
his willingness to "face any consequences" provides a chilling glimpse
of his evil mind, which is no different from that of Mubin Kadar Sheikh, a
senior technical support adviser with a corporate, or Asif Bashir Sheikh,
a mechanical engineer, who are among those arrested on Monday for their role
in the recent serial bombings across the country that have left hundreds of
men, women and children dead. Like Mohammed Mansoor Asgar Peerbhoy, Mubin
Kadar Sheikh and Asif Bashir Sheikh chose the infamy of Indian Mujahideen
over the opportunity to excel in their professions. It would be facetious
to suggest that they opted for bombs over jobs to punish the "tormentors
of Muslims" -- in their entire lives, they have not had to face any of
the hardships that India's masses, among them Muslims, have to cope with and
despite which they remain humble, law-abiding citizens, proud of their nation
and their motherland. Indeed, a grave injustice would be committed to the
vast majority of India's Muslims were we to be swayed by the bunkum mouthed
by Mohammed Mansoor Asgar Peerbhoy, which also forms the bulk of the terror
e-mail the Indian Mujahideen has been sending out, and endorsed by the likes
of Teesta Setalvad who see nothing but virtuous qualities in cold-blooded
killers and wax eloquent about how others, and not terrorists, are to blame
for the death and destruction in the name of Islam.
The truth is that well-educated and well-paid
jihadis are motivated by the ideology of hate that is preached by mullahs
who adore Osama bin Laden and will do anything to Talibanise India. This ideology
is rooted in a sinister interpretation of Islam; it abhors tolerance and acceptance
of the other; it is obsessed with kafirs and kufr; and, it sanctions mass
slaughter. That the poison of radical Islam should have seeped into that section
of Muslim society which was believed to be immune to fanaticism and indifferent
to mullahs and orthodoxy should cause all-round concern, not least because
Monday's revelations make conventional wisdom stand on its head. The war against
jihad, we must realise, is not merely about busting terror modules -- it is
also, and perhaps more importantly, about waging a relentless battle against
the demonic ideology that fuels jihadi terrorism. To win this battle, both
the devil and his mind have to be destroyed.
