I was overwhelmed with hope at the sight of thousands of people holding hands in Mumbai calling for better governance and leadership from their country’s politicians. In a peaceful demonstration called “Mumbai for Peace,” more than 200 groups, from nongovernmental organizations, the business community and student movements took to the streets to protest against the devastating attacks that have killed nearly 200 innocent people and injured hundreds more. Their message was, “We are united; we want peace, and nobody can create any wedge or difference to divide us. We are Indians first and last.”
I wish this message could be heard and echoed all over the world. The peace lovers of this world also should show solidarity and resilience to stand against those forces and movements that create conflicts and seek to manipulate the minds of the innocent to carry out terrorist acts for the selfish gains of others. We must all unite to confront this destructive political agenda of these forces of evil.
The Saudi government and all Arab and Islamic organizations have condemned the Mumbai terrorist attacks.
The majority of the Arab and Islamic world have denounced the barbaric act and stressed the need to protect humanity and stop the vicious cycle of violence. In a strong statement condemning the attack, an official from Jama Masjid Trust, which runs a large cemetery in downtown Mumbai, rejected the bodies of the nine dead attackers and said: “People who committed this heinous crime cannot be called Muslim.”
The Muslim majorities agree that the perpetrators of this heinous crime should be brought to justice and receive the ultimate punishment.
In Saudi Arabia, an expert committee in the Council of Ministers is studying a draft law to punish those involved in terrorism and other criminal acts that threaten all nations’ security. The new law will deal with all organized crimes and activities related to terrorism, and those involved in such crimes will face maximum sentences of capital punishment. Interior Minister Prince Naif described the various crimes of bombing, kidnapping and terrorizing people as crimes of “haraba,” a Qur’anic term defined as “sowing corruption and chaos on earth.” It is considered as the most grievous crimes and, according to the Shariah, the guilty should be executed. Other governmental agencies already have completed studies of anti-terror laws, state security crimes and organized crimes.
The Saudi government has always called for confronting terrorism through international cooperation.
The Saudi Cabinet, chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, reiterated the urgency for establishing a counterterrorism center in order to strengthen global efforts to combat terrorism. The king had proposed the counterterrorism center at the international anti-terror conference in Riyadh three years ago. There is a need to reach a consensus on the global definition for terrorism. Experts must recognize the root causes of this global phenomenon There should be unanimous condemnation of terrorism, ethnic cleansing and the instigation of wars that terrorize women and children and conflicts that lead to bloodshed.
The center should identify the different terrorist organizations and understand the motives behind the criminal acts perpetrated by these criminals.
Are we only threatened by Al-Qaeda network or are there other terrorist organizations that are state funded? What motivates them? Are they politically, socially or ideologically motivated? Who funds and feeds them with the political agenda that makes them commit their heinous crimes? We need to study the answers to these questions through a center of global cooperation and shared information.
Violence breeds violence. So a new global strategy should strive to solve conflicts through peaceful means. It is time we end the cycle of revenge and destruction. More effort should be exerted toward a better understanding of the distorted views of the terrorists, their tactics and motives. Only then can we conquer this global menace that is ruining the future of our children and is a threat to all humanity.
It is encouraging to note that the Saudi government has adopted a strategy to address the spread of the deviant ideology that fuels the terrorist mentality, and the government has embarked on a plan involving religious scholars and social scientists to explain the true and moderate religious views.
Prince Naif has called for efforts to eradicate religious extremism and propagate the moderate teachings of Islam that promote tolerance. The Interior Ministry recently launched a campaign in Hafr Al-Batin in the Eastern Province where preachers and experts are working toward reforming individuals arrested on terror charges.
Addressing staff and students at the Islamic University in Madinah, Prince Naïf urged all Saudi universities to fight terrorism and play a significant role in conducting research to study why and how some young Saudis were drawn to terrorist acts.
Saudi families need both direction and motivation to play a bigger role in the war against religious extremism. The Kingdom is still threatened by terrorists who have carried out more than 30 terror attacks that targeted citizens, residents, security officers or national resources.
Recent studies have revealed that, in most cases, injustice, poverty and neglect breed criminals who are bitter and corrupt. Therefore, governments must apply justice for all, provide better wages and address the problem of unemployment in order to allow people to live in dignity. Moreover, efforts should be made to check the rise in domestic violence and to put an end to the growing violence in schools.
In the blessed month of Haj, the imam of the Grand Mosque in Makkah delivered a sermon to more than one and a half million pilgrims and urged the worshippers to settle disputes that have caused the Muslim nation untold misery. Let us pray that Muslim worshippers heed his call, and let us hope that peace lovers all over the world echo the words of Mumbai’s demonstrators calling for better leadership from their countries’ politicians
— Samar Fatany is a Saudi radio journalist based in Jeddah.
