Tackling terrorism: Only ruthless reprisal is not the answer
Such outpouring of hate
will only generate more hate and their fallouts can be even grimmer. The latest is the French authorities have forcibly shut down mosques in Paris
In the wake of gruesome Paris attacks that killed some 129 persons a few days ago, the Muslim population in the US and European countries are becoming the target of ire of their people. Soon after the attacks, all the Muslim-majority countries of the world justifiably condemned them and expressed deepest sympathy for the victims. But it is a matter of great worry that mosques in the Western countries are now being vandalised rampantly, pages of the Quran torn and even human faeces thrown in the premises of the mosques as expressions of hatred. Such outpouring of hate will only generate more hate and their fallouts can be even grimmer. The latest is the French authorities have forcibly shut down mosques in Paris. But closing down a place of worship by force is tantamount to flagrant violation of basic human rights as understood and upheld universally.
Religiously drawn polarisation in societies will only generate more violence and more hate. After Paris, some Republican Party leaders in the US took such an extreme line that they called for only accepting the Christian Syrian refugees. Even before the attacks, the GOP nominee seeker for the US presidency, Donald Trump, in one of his election campaign speeches notoriously declared that if he becomes the President, he would shut down all mosques in the US.
There is little doubt that segregation of the Muslim population relegating them to the position of third grade citizens or worse, has all the potential to create more extremist Muslims. Not surprisingly, all of the attackers in Paris so far identified are home-grown European Muslims.
In the backdrop of Paris attacks and the counter-violence Muslims are now facing, now is the time for the West to make a thorough soul searching whether it is trying to create in Muslims enemies just for creating an enemy. They must revise their policy towards Muslims within their own population as well as the nations beyond in different regions, particularly in the Middle East.
Hopefully, there are many people in any given society who genuinely feel for humanity and stand for the common good. The US president Barack Obama, on the issue of accepting refugees, poignantly said that religious identities should not be the test for compassion. On the same issue, US Senator John McCain reminded that all children are Gods children.
If a democratic, liberal and pluralist society fails to protect its minority population, their values and ways of life that society can hardly claim to be democratic, liberal and pluralist. It is hoped that in these turbulent times, it is not just the US and European countries, all societies that espouse these values must stand the test
