We are passing through a time when the very existence of our country is at stake. The situation requires no more polemics, fiery speeches or quarrels on satellite TV. What is needed now is for us to sit down and listen to what God says and what the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) taught us and to draw lessons from both sources.
We should begin by reforming ourselves: Rulers and ruled, officials and ordinary citizens. We are all humans and it is the nature of humans to err. Ours is not a society of angels, and no one should claim to enjoy sacredness or holiness no matter what. People who can influence events, whether officials or others who enjoy authority, must lead the way to the kind of reform that comes out of complete belief and conviction. The alternative, God forbid, is chaos.
The people of influence I am speaking of can make vital decisions that take into consideration all positive ideas, regardless of where they came from. The main concern should be uniting the people in order to fight extremism and terrorism. This is not the time for courtly behavior, weakness or relying on others to solve our problems. Nor is it the time to seek justification for criminal acts. By doing so, we risk seeing the boat going down, drowning all those on board in the depths of the sea.
The time has arrived for an end to TV discussion, empty talk and ideas that are never put into practice. There are too many who indulge in these things with their only concern being wealth, power and fame. We have seen too many of them become celebrities, appearing on satellite TV with their pictures dominating the pages of our newspapers and magazines. These individuals know which side their bread is buttered. But to whose advantage?
