The terrorists struck during the holy month which should be devoted to prayer, supplication and charity work. The explosion that recently rocked Riyadh was a barbaric crime unmatched by any other act of terrorism. Innocent children lost their lives; whole families perished in the blast and men and women were killed and injured. One terrified father who survived threw his children out the window of their second floor apartment in order to save them from the flames engulfing their home. He had to choose between seeing his children burn to death or throwing them out in the hope that nothing worse than broken bones would result. What a hideous choice for any parent to have to make!
The majority of those living in Al-Muhaya Compound were Arabs and Muslims. What difference would it make if they had not been Arabs or Muslims? The ultimate result is the snuffing out of innocent lives. What difference would it make if all the residents had been American citizens? Still they would have been innocent people who had done nothing to deserve such a fate. Those who lived in that compound were ordinary human beings, living here with their families and who, like all of us, cherished the same dreams for a better tomorrow.
A number of American soldiers in Iraq have embraced Islam after living among Muslims and learning about their customs and traditions. They benefited from the chance for a better understanding of Islam. Even some guards at Guantanamo have embraced Islam. These are military personnel guarding Muslim detainees who have been brought to the place as victims in what America calls its war against terrorism. The guards nevertheless became Muslims after growing close to their Muslim prisoners and seeing what Islam really stands for.
Why then would a Muslim want to hurt other people, including fellow Muslims, by deliberately committing such heinous crimes? Why are such things happening and who can possibly benefit from them? Had the perpetrators of these crimes lost their way to occupied Jerusalem and Iraq?
In those two places, occupying forces are defying international law and dictating terms to the local population with no regard to the wishes of that population. The terrorists treated Al-Muhaya Compound as a place whose occupants had to be eliminated and from which a jihad would be launched.
Who convinced those people that the road to Jerusalem runs through Riyadh? Who convinced them that in order to liberate the holy city, you have to bomb a residential compound in Riyadh?
