At a wedding reception on Thursday evening, word quickly filtered out that a gunbattle was in progress between the police and suspected militants in east Jeddah. In a coastal city on the shores of the Red Sea, this was perhaps the first significant intrusion of terrorism.
Soon the focus of conversation revolved around such incidents, particularly since this one had happened just a day after the blast in Riyadh, a city that has had its share of violence and destruction of human life. And the anger that resulted was evident.
“Tariq, you really should write more against these terrorists,” pleaded one of the guests. “You have the means of getting your word out to a large audience, and it is time that we send a clear message to these miscreants that we’re not buying their ideology.”
“Saleh, I have brought up this issue in my columns several times. It is not just only for me, but for all of you who feel this way to do the same as well in your own way,” was my reply.
“Look around you,” he said. “Who do you see? Doctors, businessmen, and academics. That’s what you see. And in the course of our day, unlike you, we have limited interaction with people. Just look around you. Listen to the murmuring of condemnation against such actions. Do you see a single approving face?
“Let these monsters know that those of us who make up the bulk of our society are repulsed rather than sympathetic to the banner under which these deviants operate. Let our voices be heard! Get the message out that the ‘silent Saudi majority’ is sickened by their acts, and will not be swayed by their twisted messages of violence against the innocent,” Saleh continued.
“Nor will they find a heaven in the hereafter, for only hell will greet them and their numbers. Their twisted interpretations of Islam guarantees them a slot there,” he fumed.
Halfway through our conversation, we were joined by Karim, a pediatrician. Nodding vigorously, he took off where Saleh ended.
“Yes Tariq, we are fed up. Repulsed by these acts carried out in the name of our noble religion. And perhaps more resolved to fight them. In my practice, I have recently started handing out a ‘No to Terrorism’ flyer. It is a small step, and perhaps a limited one, but I had to do something.”
“Good for you, Karim,” I replied. “Small steps now lead to larger strides in the future. Each one of you has a responsibility within your means to fight the ideology of terrorism against the innocent, wherever it may be. Within or outside your borders.
“Perhaps today’s silent majority will indeed become tomorrow’s vocal majority. And then your voices shall be heard.”
