Mission to divide us failed
Not again? That was my immediate reaction when I first heard about the London terror attacks. Such acts are not just an attack on a single country or nation, but an attack on all of humanity. There is absolutely no justification for such kinds of atrocities.
In response to such terrorism, I often write a letter to the editor condemning Daesh (also known as ISIS) and its brutality. But lately, that seems to have become a weekly routine.
On the day after the London attack, my fellow Ahmadi Muslims and I took to the streets and held up signs saying, “I am a Muslim. Ask me Anything!”
Much to our delight, the majority of the response we received was extremely positive. A lot of people stopped to thank us, shake our hands and take pictures with us.
To me, this is a clear indication that the terrorists failed in their mission to divide us. In the wake of yet another tragedy, love and unity have once again overpowered hate and division. Fasih Malik, Calgary
“In an era where 100 angry, disillusioned young people with nothing to lose can terrorize a whole country, we must learn to talk instead of dropping bombs, sending drones or arming dubious allies.” DOUGLAS BUCK TORONTO
On Oct. 5, 2005, during the second stage of Ramadan — the Holy month in which Muslims fast — there was an attack on a small mosque in Pakistan. I was 10 years old. I was there and I got shot.
We are now going through the same month of Ramadan: a month of reflection, charity and care for mankind. A month in which fighting of any sort is forbidden for a Muslim. A month that is supposed to serve as a refresher course for a Muslim’s entire year.
Yet here we stand: Once again, someone’s “perverted sense of Islam and truth,” as British Prime Minister Theresa May said, has painted the headlines with blood and fear.
It is ironic that these misinformed radicalized individuals claim adherence to some so-called Muslim caliphate and carry out carnage in the U.K. in its name, while there also exists a caliph in London, Mirza Masroor Ahmad, who tells the millions of his followers around the world that Islam is “love for all, hatred for none.”
My prayers are with the victims and families throughout this whole month. May Muslims the world over also pray for them and stand with them. Omar Farooq, Vaughan At some point, we’ll have to start talking to terrorists. We’ll have to listen, not lecture, and find out the reasons for their willingness to die to terrorize us.
We must stop demonizing Muslims everywhere. Muslims want nothing more than to fit in and become accepted. Our marginalization of them is exactly what the terrorists hope for.
We must stop talking about “collateral damage” when it comes to civilian deaths in the Middle East. Every person killed by western countries has dozens of relatives and friends who then become our instant enemies. Our dead have names, faces and histories while theirs are faceless and nameless.
In an era where 100 angry, disillusioned young people with nothing to lose can terrorize a whole country, we must learn to talk instead of dropping bombs, sending drones or arming dubious allies. Western powers can go on being enraged and dropping bombs, but at our own peril.
Eventually, we will talk because we have to. The British and Irish, the North Vietnamese and the U.S., and white South Africans and the ANC all did it. We could do it soon rather than later. Douglas Buck, Toronto Re Lessons on the origins and prevention
of terrorism, Opinion, June 6 Mohamed Fahmy’s column lacks real substance on the issue of the prevention of terrorism. His take was nothing but empty rhetoric that has been circulating within the right-wing narrative of alternative news media and dictators’ web of lies and deception. This approach hasn’t brought forward any solutions.
What was missing in his analysis was the need to study the root causes of terrorism, including our hypocrisy toward the Middle East and our support for dictators like Egypt’s general, who has toppled a democratically elected government, and was accused of killing protesters and imprisoning opponents.
What is needed to combat this threat is a little honesty from the international community, which must stop mingling in other nations’ affairs, stop supporting dictators, put an end to the indiscriminate killing of innocent civilians through drone strikes and, most importantly, to stand behind justice. Abubakar N. Kasim, Toronto I really appreciated Mohamed Fahmy’s reasoned and impassioned arguments about how to prevent people from falling into the trap of terrorism, until I read the last sentence. We don’t need praying. Prayer is how we got here in the first place. Vittorio Frigerio, Toronto I appreciate Mohamed Fahmy’s extensive knowledge of the Middle East and his horrendous experiences in Egypt during his trials and imprisonment. I also recognize that the recent actions by Saudi Arabia and other Gulf States against Qatar are confusing, very difficult to interpret as to basic causes and potentially very dangerous.
I found Fahmy’s column extremely muddled and disingenuous. He obviously has very negative views of Qatar and Al Jazeera. When he says, repeating Saudi Arabia, that Qatar is a major supporter of terrorism, he loses credibility. Saudi Arabia itself is a far greater supporter of terrorism than Qatar.
The fundamental causes of terrorism, and the atrocities that go on there and occasionally spill over into Manchester or London Bridge, are clearly based originally on the actions in this region by western governments over many decades. Not by the Muslim Brotherhood, Al Jazeera or the government of Qatar. Chris Smith, Toronto